Keep Creating

Named the “Most Influential Photographer on the Internet” by Huffington Post, Forbes, and Yahoo in 2014, Jeremy Cowart is a published, award-winning photographer, artist, and entrepreneur whose mission in life is to “explore the intersection of creativity and empathy.” He’s presented at TEDx, the United Nations, and creative conferences across the country. He lives in Nashville with his wife and four children.

Inspired by a conversation he had with his father, a musician and creative, host Joel Porter relays a message of hope and choice for creatives navigating the current state of the world. This episode also marks the end of season one of the Keep Creating Podcast.

Nick de Partee has been involved in the creative industry for the last 15 years as a designer, touring guitarist for the band Kutless, a songwriter, and entrepreneur. He’s the founder of the design company Equal Seven Creative, which specializes in identity, branding, visual, apparel, and packaging design. He’s also a co-founder of the creative company, AVVAY, which is a marketplace for interesting locations and destinations.

Lee Steffen is an award-winning creative director, photographer, music producer, and fine artist. He’s traveled the world as a non-profit founder, photographed a Billboard #1 album and countless Grammy-winning musicians, designed for a presidential campaign, produced an acclaimed hip-hop record, and led brand campaigns for luminaries like Maya Angelou and Johnny Cash. When he’s not traveling, he can be found in Nashville, TN, where he lives with his true loves: his family, and his piano.

Hannah Messinger is an eater, writer and professional people feeder based in Nashville, TN. Above all else, she is an evangelist for being a cheap cook. Every Monday since September of 2018, people have written in to her on Instagram about what odds and ends they have in their kitchen, and she tells them what to make. That’s how the Pantry Raid podcast was born: as a conversation between her and people who struggle to cook what they have on hand without a recipe.

Jeff Sheldon is the founder and designer of Ugmonk, a brand that focuses on creating and curating thoughtfully-designed products. They pride themselves in raising the bar on quality, experience, and aesthetic. Jeff launched Ugmonk in 2008 as a creative outlet to design products that he wanted to wear and use. Now over a decade later, Ugmonk continues to expand its collection of well-designed objects and clothing, and attract a passionate following from around the globe.

On Episode 11 of Keep Creating, Joel Porter and Julian Vaca (Soundstripe cohort and host of the creative YouTube series "InTune") recap the first 10 episodes and share some of the most memorable lessons our guests have shared thus far. Picture this episode as the “cliff notes” summary of our first ten episodes.

Hannah Schneider's 10 years in public relations and social media includes work as a social media manager, publicist, founder and CEO of Hannah Schneider Creative, founder of Kettner Coffee Supply and Managing Partner at BRAND House. Her work has been featured on local and national outlets such as Good Morning America, Today Show, Cosmopolitan, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.

Nick LaParra is a consultant, a podcaster, and host of the “Let’s Give a Damn” podcast. He’s a creator, speaker, humanitarian, environmentalist, vegetarian, minimalist, and an aspiring mensch. He is a driven Nashvillian and chooses to be unafraid of failure, which is made evident by his mindset and demeanor in conversation. Disclaimer: Nick is real, and uses some colorful language that might catch your attention, but his insight is incredible.

Nathan Brown is an LA-born skateboarder, entrepreneur, and muralist. He moved to Nashville when he was 11 and embraced the transition through skateboarding and exploration as a sponsored amateur. He drew inspiration from his travels and fused them into his work in the studio and onto the walls of buildings across the US and Europe. He’s produced large scale commissioned murals for brands such as Google, Spotify and more, and now focuses on bringing beautification projects to the communities needing it most.