This past weekend (June 11 & 12), my fiancée Erin and I drove to Cleveland for a gathering of creatives and designers called the Weapons of Mass Creation Festival. The timing ended up being perfect for me. On June 2, 2011, I launched this website, and I wanted to dive in headfirst to start interviewing people.
After attending last year and screening my documentary, I knew WMC Fest would be full of people with interesting stories about creating things, carving out your own path, and finding meaning. The timing was pretty remarkable when you realize how closely aligned WMC Fest’s vibe is with the aims of this website.
9 Awesome People. 9 Awesome Interviews. (Thank You All.)
Wow. WMC Fest really came through. Altogether, I interviewed 9 people (with Erin’s help; she filmed and recorded most of the audio while I conducted the interviews). I was so appreciative of how everyone was so open, excited, and willing to share their experiences and stories. Plus it meant a lot that they were willing to be some of my first interviews for this website. The 9 courageous, kind souls were:
- Jeff Finley (designer/partner at GoMedia, founder of WMC Fest)
- Aaron Draplin (designer and owner of Draplin Design Co.)
- Mig Reyes (designer for Threadless, creator of Humble Pied)
- Alex Cornell (designer for Firespotter, musician, entrepreneur)
- Todd Saperstein (design educator at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design)
- Nate Utesch (designer at One Lucky Guitar, founder of Ferocious Quarterly)
- Dan Cassaro (designer/animator/print-maker for Young Jerks, curator of Fifth and Fifty)
- Dan Christofferson (designer/artist at Bee Teeth, marketer/biz developer for BigCartel)
- John-Paul Walton (designer at Scheme Studio, tech entrepreneur at Retronyms and Dokogeo)
I’ll Be Posting One Interview Per Week, Starting This Thursday.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting the interviews here at Create the Map. My plan is to post one interview a week and to stick with that schedule going forward.
Congratulations to Jeff Finley for Turning an Idea Into Something Special.
Attending this year’s edition of WMC Fest was also important for me because of my friendship with its founder, Jeff Finley. We had connected initially through the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2009, and we’ve kept in touch throughout his journey of establishing the Weapons of Mass Creation Fest. I love Jeff’s energy and enthusiasm for dreaming up an idea and translating it into reality. I know a lot of people with ideas, but people who have ideas AND act on them are a different breed. Congratulations to Jeff and the whole gang for creating and growing such an awesome event.
A Few Key Takeaways.
For now, I’ll share a few of the key takeaways and consistent ideas from my interviews:
Whatever you’re interested in doing, do. Find time for it. Make things. Even if it’s on the side. Side projects can and often do grow into bigger projects.
Everyone gets stuck at some point. It’s not a matter of never getting stuck; it’s a matter of just plowing through and getting unstuck. Find a diversion or distraction and then come back to it.
Work hard. Nothing meaningful come easy, even for people who make it look like it does.
Be a doer, not just a dreamer. Lots of people dream up ideas. Fewer people put in the time, work, and love it takes to turn those ideas into something real and tangible.
Check Back Thursday for My Interview with Jeff Finley.
Check back this Thursday for my interview with Jeff Finley talking about the genesis of Weapons of Mass Creation Fest and the path he’s taken in life.
P.S. Enjoy a Few Pictures.
P.S. You can check out pictures from the weekend I uploaded to Flickr. (Warning: I got a little crazy with the Hipstamatic.)
Want Free Updates from Create the Map?
If you’d like to receive free updates, you can subscribe to my email list, subscribe to the RSS feed, or connect on Facebook or Twitter.
Comments on this entry are closed.