AS WE CREATE

Growing up in rural Maine was a great experience for Brian Pike though when it came time to research advertising schools, he took the opportunity to head to the West Coast. Brian shares how he began his career as a copywriter as well as knowing when to push an idea beyond a clients comfort level. We also talk about the current state of advertising as well his role at Mintz & Hoke.

Initially focusing her education on becoming an actor, Ilona Somogyi quickly discovered it was not going to be a good fit. While still having a fascination with theater, she turned back to her seamstress skills instilled by her grandmother. Ilona shares many stories of her career as a freelance costume designer as well as her involvement with the Yale School of Drama. We also hear about the journey Ilona has taken co-founding Ball and Socket Arts.

Reading was something that came to Chris Knopf at a very early age and had him pursue his education in creative writing. Before becoming a published author, Chris shares how his career began working in public relations as a copywriter and what lead to him taking over the creative agency Mintz+Hoke. We also talk about the relationship of strategy and creativity as well as the current state of publishing.

A few career paths were considered before Jeff Jahnke set his sights on architecture and he shares how things went after he served in the Navy. We talk about the creative freedom of architecture and how it can often be suppressed by tradition. He also shares how a longterm project while he was working for Centerbrook, became a foundational element to launching his own firm, Hartford Architecture Partners Inc.

Anne Cubberly always had a love for drawing and creating, though when she experienced a Bread and Puppet performance for the first time, she fell in love with giant puppets. We talk about the many creative chapters of her life before coming back to Connecticut, and how all of those experiences influenced Night Fall and the power of community collaboration.