I feel grateful every day i come to work that i’m able to be around creative people doing creative things, from telling stories to shooting Instagram videos to designing page layouts to managing photo shoots. I’ve been fortunate to do this sort of work for 35 years now—fortunate because I often feel like writing and editing are the only creative talents I possess.
Do you ever catch yourself looking around in amazement at all of the creative people you know? I can’t sing, play a musical instrument, draw, paint, dance, get on stage to tell jokes or act, or play sports—and I’m always impressed by those who can. I guess it’s human nature to lament what you can’t do creatively more than appreciate what you can do, though I try to strike that balance and, again, be grateful for what I have.
One more creative skill I lack is understanding how colors, textures, fabrics, and shapes work together in fashion design. Fortunately, a number of creative people across Cincinnati have that area covered, as demonstrated in “The Future of Fashion.” I’ve enjoyed finding out how these designers discovered and nurtured their talents, from learning to sew in childhood to being encouraged by a teacher to pursuing a college degree to the good, old-fashioned “self-taught” approach. Seeing their incredible work on our pages elicits the same response I usually have to creatives: Wow, how did they do that?
I contributed an interview with Zachary Hoh, who manages DAAP’s fashion design program, to this section. Hearing him describe the school’s academic rigor and five semesters of off-campus co-op requirements, I now understand why DAAP is renowned in fashion design circles and why so many grads go on to high-profile positions at national and international brands and design firms. While they’re here at UC—and for those who stay in town after graduation—these creatives can’t help but raise the bar within Cincinnati’s design scene. Kind of like how the music and theater programs at CCM or the culinary program at Cincinnati State bring creatives together here to mix, mingle, and inspire each other.
If they’re as fortunate as I was, they might even be able to build a creative career here.
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