Meet Chrissy Culver of CFCM | Design in Poncey-Highlands

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Culver.

Chrissy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Both my sister and I inherited the artist genes in our family, so we grew up always drawing, painting, building, crafting stuff. So from a young age, my goal was to be some kind of artist. My absolute favorite thing in the world to do was make crafts from Highlights magazine, which usually combined multiple art skills into one fabulous activity. Even though we often didn’t have the exact materials, I’d improvise with stuff we *did* have, sometimes to the chagrin of my dad whose garage workshop I’d raid. Oops.

My high school art teacher, Ms. Joy Johnson at North Cobb HS, had an enormous impact on my decision to seriously pursue an art degree and look at professional art careers. Her AP art class was small but focused and intense, and she ran it like a college-level class. I owe her a huge thanks, wherever she is, for her skill and dedication and how it changed my life.

Six years later, I had a BFA from Georgia State in Graphic Design, initially chosen because of the optimistic job opportunities (compared to the fine art world) and finished because I grew to really love design. After getting laid off a designer role at a toxic office, I decided to freelance for a while and stumbled into the world of live event design through people I’d met in the music industry. This was the magic, glorious combination of both sides of my art training: graphic design and concepting plus painting, building, spatial design and making. I co-founded an event production agency and we worked very long and hard hours building up a diverse portfolio of dream projects, like art directing a music festival, designing and building giant stage decor pieces, and dreaming up cool spaces for famous brands. Although the schedule was often grueling, I was amazed at the fact that I was getting paid to do an adult version of my beloved Highlights crafts. All of that improvising as a kid weirdly enough paid off as a professional, working with tight budgets and limited resources to create something awesome.

I left the production agency to move in a different direction, and now I focus on specialized environmental designs using both 2D design software and 3D modeling. I’ve also got 2-3 side projects running at any given time, most recently working with the amazing Found Stages team to build gothic set pieces for an immersive show. I like to keep an “Art Bucket List” that is always evolving, so the artistic desire to create is kept alive. So if there’s a crazy or unusual project floating around out there, bring it 🙂

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh, man. I’ve often said I didn’t choose a career in the arts because it was easy or for the money. It took me six years to get my BFA because I put myself through school, living with roommates and working at a bar as much as time allowed around the rigorous Graphic Design program. I also wasn’t accepted the first year I applied, which meant another entire year of retaking classes and applying a second time, after which I got in. I used up every single Hope Scholarship hour and then some!

Even more difficult were the years spent building up the production agency I co-founded. While it seems everyone is throwing around the “entrepreneur” label these days out of the work-grind worship culture, there is definitely a level of exhaustion, emotional investment and s t r e s s that comes with your livelihood being on a razor’s edge for years that is unlike anything else. I learned the hard way that being a skilled artist wasn’t enough, I had to learn to (very badly at first) schmooze and “do business,” which can feel so at-odds with a creative background. It was baptism by fire learning how to manage a crew, navigate problems caused from your own mistakes while not crumbling under pressure, and woefully underestimating a project and having to work overnight to fix it. At my peak, we were working 10-12 hour days for 45 days straight, which was my breaking point.

All of that being said—the hardest lesson I learned is that sometimes the greatest challenge can be making the decision to walk away from something you’ve poured all of yourself into. Learning that you don’t have to kill yourself to work on incredible projects and that this won’t be your one and only road to success. In the “entrepreneur” world, there is a ton of advice on not giving up when sometimes that’s the absolute best decision you can make.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the CFCM | Design story. Tell us more about the business.
I design and make things! Nowadays, it’s mostly environmental design, but I also design a fair amount of branding for small companies and startups. Honestly, though I feel as if I’ve designed almost everything, from print to web to trade shows, stages, billboards, vehicle wraps, you name it. The essential design principles apply regardless of the surface or industry. My ideal project is one that allows me to sneak in some fine art skills, like sculpting or painting.

I am really proud of the work myself and a small group of artists recently did on the aforementioned Found Stages “Frankenstein’s Funeral” show. I am really excited about immersive theatre, and we pulled off an incredible work of art if I do say so myself.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’d say luck more than not; lucky that I was born with an aptitude for art, and that I have always known just what I wanted to be. Lucky that I lived in a state with the Hope Scholarship so I could go to college. I know there are a lot of artists who come from much less privileged backgrounds and face discrimination in the design world that I have not encountered.

Contact Info:

• Address: Atlanta, GA
• Website: cfcmdesign.com
• Phone: 7706080203
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @chrissy_culver_design

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