Christopher Ruffin
My story is very interesting, I grew up in a small town in Mississippi. Then I moved to Dallas, Tx with my father where I attended high school. When I finished high school I moved to Grambling, la, this is where I attended college for 4 years. I also was a division 1 track and field runner, and also received my B.A In biological science. Read More>>
Vegan Da’rrell
Author, actor, model Vegan Darrell Franklin born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his entertainment career at the early age of 3 years old. Modeling in fashion shows which lead to stage plays by the age of 6. Read More>>
Gianne Demeritte
I can remember at the age of eight or so, exploring around my childhood home and neighborhood with my father’s canon camera. There was never any film in the camera but I just wanted to hear the sound of the click the camera made every time I took a “picture”- with no film. I also recall begging my mother for a Polaroid camera and the only thing I took pictures of was my puppy – with weird and different angles. I just had a love for all things creative and I felt most comfortable with art and design. I felt like Art class was the only place I really excelled in, but growing up in The Bahamas in the early 90’s didn’t support the idea of kids seeking a career in the art and design industry- at least in my opinion. Read More>>
Tamika Newhouse
I had completed my first book by 12 years old and from that point on I told everyone that I was going to be a novelist when I grew up. But teen pregnancy and the death of my mother detoured me. I finished a book called The Ultimate No-No when I was 20 and would publish it months later. I had discovered self-publishing and from there I took destiny into my own hands. Read More>>
Justin Kleindienst
I was raised with a single mother who didn’t own a tv. We had music playing through the house 24/7 when I was growing up. At the age of nine, she bought me my first drum kit and I played it every single day. When I was about ten years of age my mother’s musician friends would come over and play their guitars while I kept along on the drums (I loved every second of it). By the time I was twelve years old I was given my first guitar, and I spent every minute of every day after school learning to play my guitar. My favorite bands growing up were Modest Mouse, Foo Fighters, Dance Gavin Dance, and Linkin Park. The first time I had heard rap music was Biggie Smalls’ album “Ready To Die”. Read More>>
Emma Kohtanen
For as long as I can remember, I have always had an interest in fashion and putting together looks. It wasn’t until social media got bigger and when fashion blogging became more and more popular, that it hit me that I could actually start my own website where I could share my personal style with the world, too. I wanted to create a platform sharing my style, where women would be guaranteed to find some kind of inspiration each and every time they took a glance. Read More>>
Dayana Brown
I started Marketing and branding in 2012 with a group of bloggers “The blogger’s block” in Miami promoting local and international brands. Growing up I was always fascinated by packaging and events, My favorite class/subject attending a French school was art, I was free and creative it puts me at ease. Coming from one of the poorest countries Haiti you had no choice but to dream big. Read More>>
Amy Minchew
I have been artistic my entire life and naturally found my way to pencil work at an early age. I love to experiment with different mediums and have all kinds of supplies around my studio ranging from pastels to acrylics, and of course, my favorites being graphite and oil paint. I began using oil paints about ten years ago and appreciate the additional outlet for expressing myself, but graphite is where my heart lies. I started showing my work on Instagram about five years ago and quickly found a large and supportive group of followers and peers that helped me really “take off”, and I most definitely owe my success to each and every one of them. I absolutely love me, followers. My exposure on Instagram helped me to meet collectors, gallery owners, and other artists, which has led me to where I am today! Read More>>
Macy O’Connell
I picked up photography from my mother. She would take pictures of my siblings and I when we were younger. When I started taking photography classes in high school, she gave me her film camera to use. I started by taking pictures of my younger siblings. I fell in love with photography when I made my first pinhole camera and developed my own photographs in a dark room. When I was a senior in high school, I photographed my first wedding. After that, my wedding photography business really picked up. The number of weddings I have photographed in 2016 is double what I photographed in 2015. I was the little girl who dreamed of having a beautiful wedding one day. So, being a wedding photographer is pretty much the perfect job for me because I get to go to a wedding almost every weekend of the year. Read More>>
Coleen Panton
I am from the beautiful Caribbean Island of Jamaican where I grew up in a family of seamstresses and from an early age knew I wanted to express my creativity through fashion. I went to fashion college after high school in Montego Bay, Jamaica but started seriously pursuing my dream in 2013. I moved to Atlanta in 2014 where I continue to draw from my Caribbean experience to create clothing inspired by the beach, the tropical colors replete in the landscape and the warmth of the Caribbean people. Read More>>
Joe’l Breeze
Growing up I had a fascination with magazines and looking at all the pictures, not reading none of the articles. I’d look at the pictures trying to find out how it was shot or how I would have shot it. I made my decision to become a photographer in high school after breaking my foot playing football, at that time I thought I was going to be doing something dealing with sports but I had to move onto my real passion which was photography I made my decision to become a photographer in high school after breaking my foot playing football, at that time I thought I was going to be doing something dealing with sports but I had to move onto my real passion which was photography. Ended up going to the Art Institute of Atlanta to get more in-depth knowledge of my craft. Read More>>
Robin Jones
I’ve always loved hair and makeup. I’ve always had a passion for making people look beautiful. But instead of pursuing my passion I decided to get a degree in finance that I’ve never even used. I worked in retail as a manager for a few years and one weekend I decided to go to a hair show in Orlando. That Monday that I returned I put my two-week notice into my job and never looked back. I enrolled in Tony and guy academy in Marietta And haven’t golfed myself and my passion ever since. Some of my proudest moments have been winning best student makeup at the Toni and guy photographic awards 2015, being published in Clark Atlanta University’s fashion look book 2015, and working on hair and make up for Elbert Ivory models. Read More>>
Venus Austin
I started Pinkklipstick over 6 years ago through creating beauty videos on YouTube. I was in graduate school at the time, so I didn’t take it seriously. I moved to Atlanta shortly thereafter and decided to relaunch Pinkklipstick and become more consistent because people begin to ask me about my videos and my blog and where I had been. Upon a soft relaunch in 2012, I did a hard relaunch in the middle of 2013. Since then I have been able to grow Pinkklipstick and make connections with some of my favorite beauty and fashion brands. I have also been able to host events, sell merchandise and host my first styling workshop coming up in November. Pinkklipstick is the perfect manifestation of who I am as a brand; we are all about defining fashion and beauty as you want to by being able to appreciate trends at the same time. We are all about being unapologetic in our purpose and lifestyle. Read More>>
Angela Marie Williams
I am originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, and currently live in Atlanta, GA! Ever since I was a young girl, I was interested in the entertainment industry. I was always jumping to be in the home videos, putting on little shows for my family, and participating in any school theater and dance shows as possible! I was involved in theater and art classes, and competitive dance when I was young all the way through college. Read More>>
Ian Schneider
For my wife and I, photography started as a way for us to document our travels, but it has grown into an exciting and always evolving passion to freeze life’s moments that pass by so quickly. We specialize in lifestyle photography now and love stretching ourselves in this realm. We generalize the term “lifestyle” to encompass a lot of different things, including client sessions for couples, families, and weddings, but it also supports our collaborations and the partners we work with through our lifestyle blog, The Southern Trunk. For Victoria and I, photography will always evolve and grow with us and our experiences, so we make sure to give the art and our creative sides room to experiment and develop. Read More>>
Yiwen Lu
Yiwen is a Taiwanese born, Atlanta based graphic designer with a passion for colors, typography, and illustration. Her style is playful, fun, and contemporary. She pays very close attention to detail and considers every facet of her work to ensure a strong concept that is the perfect fit for every project. Yiwen specializes in branding, print design, and package design and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Read More>>
Susana Vega
The beginning of my trait started in Venezuela as a little girl. I use to observe my father work in his goldsmith shop, which was the family business and where I grew up. I spent my childhood learning and trying to design jewelry pieces and I would make them for my friends with craft materials that I used to find hidden and forgotten around my father’s shop. In 2010 I began to study industrial design at the University of Los Andes knowing that my passion was goldsmith. Here is where I was able to gain all the knowledge and the tools that have helped me continue pursuing my passion and create my personal brand. Since then, I started my brand with personalized designs based on the client’s request. Read More>>
