Creatively Blog

Accidentally Wes Anderson’s Wally Koval

Wally Koval was working as a product marketing director in New York when he started an Instagram account in 2017 called “Accidentally Wes Anderson.” Originally conceived as a kind of travel bucket list with his wife, Amanda, the profile—which serves as an homage to director Wes Anderson’s distinctive fanciful, nostalgic, always-symmetrical visual aesthetic—quickly went viral.

Now, Koval and his wife curate and publish daily content for more than a million followers (or “Adventurers”), a community that includes more than a few professional and novice photographers (or “Explorers”). (Every Koval and his wife receive thousands of submissions for AWA.) Koval recently even published a book spotlighting more than 200 idiosyncratic locations, including the stories behind each one. You can check out Korval’s projects on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

In the eighth grade, I created a sculpture that was submitted to a state-wide contest. I won $100! I was super pumped and at the time, I felt like I had won the lottery. The sculpture still sits in a case in my parents’ basement.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Community-oriented––with a capital ‘C’. Symmetrical. Subjective.

I say “subjective” because we post one photo a day, 30 photos a month—even though we receive over 3,000 submissions a month. We look at every single one and even if a photo is not ultimately chosen, every single one resonated [as ‘Accidentally Wes Anderson’ with the member of the Community who sent it our way, and that is what makes it so special].

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

Accidentally Wes Anderson, The Book––by far. Yes, Wes Anderson wrote the foreword, but from a collaboration perspective––just to make this book, it took the collaborative effort of 180 photographers from 50+ different countries. 

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

Not to be repetitive, but the book––by far. This was a two-and-a-half-year project. I’ve posted on IG on @accidentallywesanderson once a day, every single day, for three and a half years. I’ve posted on the day of weddings and funerals, in dentist chairs, and beyond. Outside of brushing my teeth, I’ve never been consistent with anything else like this in my entire life. It’s hard work, but it doesn’t feel like work. I know it sounds cheesy, but our community creates a level of excitement that Amanda and I [likely] would have lost.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think it’s half and half. I think there are certain people who are innately more skilled at forming or creating pieces but I definitely believe part of this can be learned. There is something that you have inside of you that activates once you’re interested in something creative. 

What’s the last dream you had?

[Laughs] I got nothing. I don’t even know what I’ve had for lunch!

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

In 100 years, I hope that people say Accidentally Wes Anderson has influenced someone at some level to find some peace and positivity in the world and some level of excitement or engagement that spurred someone else to explore something new. Even if it was a new idea or a new reason to get off the couch and go down Main Street––or perhaps look behind a door that they wouldn’t have looked behind before. Even if it isn’t a mention of my project or my name, I hope that it creates a butterfly effect.

Follow @Accidentally Wes Anderson on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Diego Montoya

Diego Montoya is a visual artist and fashion designer whose meticulously handcrafted, fantastical creations have won him legions of fans—from Lady Gaga to the stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Born in Peru and raised in Miami, Montoya’s early creative influences ran the gamut from John Galliano and Alexander McQueen to Princess Diana’s wedding dress. As a teenager in Miami, he started attending drag shows, and after studying fashion design in school, he moved to New York City to develop his own over-the-top sensibility.

Today, Montoya’s wearable works of art have been worn by everyone from Sasha Velour and Bob the Drag Queen to Jennifer Lewis on the Oscars red carpet. You can check out their latest projects on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

In my early New York days, I would design large scale immersive art installations in raw spaces (mostly empty warehouses) for an experimental queer art festival. It was an annual project that I did for six years. The festival was like a pop-up world that lasted a week, but the build was about a month long and took dozens of volunteers to accomplish. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I have worked on. 

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Playful. Intricate. Dramatic.

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

My most fulfilling collaboration has got to be with Sasha Velour. We have been working together for the past four years and I have grown so much as an artist because of it. 

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

During my early art builds and installations, a mentor taught me that the best leaders develop new leaders. I learned to listen to my team and encourage them to push their talents. This really influenced the way I would approach leadership and the way I run my company today. 

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think you are born with creativity but you must push yourself to learn the skills to support it.

What’s the last dream you had?

The other day I found my 2016 vision board—I used to make them every year. My big dream was to make my art my primary income, start my company and move on from doing random freelance gigs that were not in my field. This seemed so distant at the time and it was so nice to be reading those intentions now and realize that not only had I built a company based on my work, but I now was able to hire a team and open a studio. 2016 me would be so proud. 

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

Every piece we make is handmade and very labor intensive. I hope that people can see the love that goes into every piece and not only appreciate the craftsmanship but the intention that goes into the process.  

Follow @DiegoMontoya on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Danielle Priano

Danielle Priano, one of the incredible leaders participating in next week’s Creatively Classes series, is a celebrity and editorial hairstylist based in New York City. Her energy and talent has made her one of fashion’s most sought-after names, allowing her to work with some of the world’s top talent and brands, including Cara Delevingne, Hailey Bieber, Adriana Lima, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Vanessa Hudgens, Ariana Grande, Chrissy Teigen, Lily Aldridge, and more.

An entrepreneur at heart, Danielle and her sister Michelle co-founded PSxDanielle, a line of expertly-designed hair products, after being frustrated with some of the hair tools and accessories they’d been using. You can check out their latest projects on Creatively here, and register for Priano’s class on Creatively here!

What is the first creative project you remember?

My first creative project was getting called for an editorial with W Magazine while I was still working as an assistant.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Sexy. Modern. Snatched. 

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

The most fulfilling collaboration that I worked on was a movie that I did with Jennifer Lopez [called “Marry Me”] (coming February 2021). I learned so much about that part of the industry and I grew energetically during the movie.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

The one creative project that I did that taught me something fundamentally was a reality show with Mariah Carey called Mariah’s World. It taught me to control my emotions and go into everything more positively. 

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I fully believe that you’re born with creativity. Do I think it’s possible to be taught it? I guess under the right mentor, but you have to have the type of a brain and mindset to work like an artist.

What’s the last dream you had?

In the last dream I had, I was helping a stranger get out of a really uncomfortable situation and bring her to safety.

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

Well, hopefully I’m still here in 100 years … but if I’m not, I would like people to write that not only was I technically a great hairdresser, but that my energy and my drive was inspiring to other young hairdressers. 

Follow @PSxDanielle on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Yuya Parker

Photographer Yuya Parker has never approached photography as a means to capture the world around him as it currently exists. Rather, he insists he sees photography more like painting: “a tool to create the images [he] imagines.”

The resulting images—primarily still-life, including impeccably styled food vignettes—are bright, playful, and imaginative. Parker’s “Food as Contemporary Art” series was featured in American Photo Magazine, and his particular style has won him clients like Airbnb, Skinceuticals, Aetna, Baccarat, and Jamba.

Born in a small Japanese town, Parker is now based in both Los Angeles and Tokyo, and you can find his latest projects on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

My grandmother was a teacher of Japanese calligraphy and instead of practicing letters, I was drawing with the ink.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

 Fresh. Joyful. Positive.

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

I created a film version of my photography series “Food as Contemporary Art” with a director friend and I was amazed by the new perspectives someone else’s creativity can bring to a project.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

When I was working on “Food as Contemporary Art,” I did not intend to make it to a series. I was simply having fun with an idea. Getting positive feedback from it gave me confidence and made me realize it’s okay to just have fun with creative concepts no matter how they may fit into your body of work.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think we all have creativity we’re born with, but oftentimes we don’t know we have it. I don’t think someone can teach you how to be creative, but someone can help you realize what sparks your creativity.

What’s the last dream you had?

Running around a park with a very special cat who passed away last year and making sure he was hydrated.

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

I don’t know what I hope they will write, but if I can make them smile with my work for a second, that would be wonderful.

Follow @YuyaParker on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Gregg Renfrew

Gregg Renfrew is the founder and CEO of Beautycounter, a leading clean beauty and skincare company which she started in 2011. With a mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone, Beautycounter’s Never List bans over 1,800 questionable ingredients from their product formulations, and they advocate tirelessly for safer industry regulations. Why? Because they believe beauty should be good for you.

 Before launching Beautycounter, Renfrew established herself as a retail leader: she sold her successful bridal registry company, The Wedding List, to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2001. Since Beautycounter’s inception, Renfrew has spoken at Vanity Fair’s Founders Fair, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, the NextGen Summit, and more. And Beautycounter has earned serious industry accolades—named one of Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies, WWD‘s Best-Performing Beauty Company in 2019, and CEW’s 2019 Indie Brand of the Year. You can check out Beautycounter’s latest projects and be the first to know about job opportunities on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

At the beginning of my career, I started my own bridesmaid dress company, so I had to learn how to design and manufacture dresses—something I had never done before. 

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Classic. Timeless…with a twist 😉

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

Working with the state of California to pass cosmetic reform.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

Working with Susie Hilfiger at Best & Co., I learned how to work with creatives in a way that was constructive and not critical. Since then, I have been much more successful utilizing creative to drive business outcomes. 

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

Both. 

What’s the last dream you had?

That I was floating in the Mediterranean without a mask on. 

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

That my work made a difference in the lives of many people, and that it impacted the beauty industry for generations to come.

Follow @Beautycounter on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Chuck Amos

Chuck Amos is a celebrity hairstylist based in New York whose flair for “big and fantastical” hair has earned him clients like Alicia Keys, Solange Knowles, Taraji P. Henson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and more. (He styled Beyonce’s hair for the cover of her solo debut album, “Dangerously in Love.”)

Before moving to New York and enrolling at FIT, Amos was a young kid in Massachusetts, creating hairstyles with his cousin’s Barbie dolls. Hair was truly his calling, and now he’s equally committed to spreading love: “There’s nothing that I’m going to do that is going to change the world in hair,” he told Yahoo in an interview, “But you can change the way the world thinks, one thought at a time.” You can check out his latest projects on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

The first creative project I remember was one for Bernadette Corporation, a clothing design company. During a shoot, their creative team requested modern-day ‘90s hairstyles mixed with old-school ‘80s hip-hop breakdancing urban-styled hair. Imagine: ‘90s finger waves mixed with MC Lyte/Salt-N-Pepa hair! 

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Big. Textured. Fantastical. 

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

Any shoot I’ve ever worked on with the photographer Ruven Afanador. The collaboration of his artistic eye and my creative mind and execution made a beautiful marriage between art and fashion. My editorials with him were out of this world!

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

In the past, I always used a lot of “hair controlling” products like heavy hair sprays and gels to keep hair controlled. It was my comfort zone while on set; but recently, a beauty photographer told me to “just let the hair flow and move around naturally––the imperfections are the Art.” 

It made me very nervous to not be entirely in control of the hair itself, but after trying this new tactic, I understood the importance of being less of a perfectionist and instead trusting my craft and understanding that things come naturally. The beauty is in the natural flow of things, not only the things that I can control! Such a game changer––not just with my craft, but with my personal self and emotions. 

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think you’re born with an imagination but it’s important to harness that passion toward something. It’s important to be around the right people who can awaken that. You can learn to bring your imagination into the creativity of the job or industry or project that you are working on. There’s a fine line between nature and nurture.

What’s the last dream you had?

Actually, a few nights ago, I dreamt I was going up an extremely tall building in Brooklyn that was all white in a futuristic glass elevator (like “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”). It went so high that I saw all of New York City and flying cars, so it was the future––and I went all the way up into the sky. That’s all I can remember.

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

I’ve gotten a lot of jobs and opportunities to work with large white corporations and clients that would normally not hire a Black hairstylist. I helped to break down doors in the ‘90s. Many Black hairstylists of this new generation have come to me and let me know that I inspired them to move forward and push to work all textured hair jobs, with all races. 

I hope my legacy tells people that there is a place for them in all situations. I had no idea that I had become a “role model” for them––and that makes me so proud of my work as well!

Follow @ChuckAmos on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Robert Couturier

Robert Couturier moved to New York City and quickly established himself as an architect and interior designer immensely skilled at executing grand-scale designs with a certain globe-trotting appeal. A graduate of the prestigious École Camondo in Paris, Couturier’s name has become synonymous with continental and international style, winning him commissions in the U.S., Europe, Russia, and South America—including Cuixmala, a spectacular retreat in Mexico that was originally originally a private residence for Sir James Goldsmith and his family. 

Couturier visits the past to bring his timeless approach to the present. As he likes to say himself, recalling the rich interiors in which he spent his childhood and youth, “It is to both grander and greater ends that one invents when one can start with one’s own past.”

Couturier has been featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, and Conde Nast Traveler; and was included in Architectural Digest’s prestigious annual list of the best decorators and architectural firms in the world. Check out the latest projects from @RCouturier on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

I came home in the middle of the night (totally stoned) and single-handedly changed the entire layout of the living room in my grandmother’s house in Paris.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Balance, original, and variety.

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

I am not sure there is one single job that is more fulfilling than the others. There are so many different ways of being fulfilled, from aesthetically to intellectually to emotionally; you can have one or the other but not all of them at once.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

Again, there is no lightning strike from a single creative project––it happens little by little, one job after the other, one small lesson after another small lesson. I also think the lessons we learn have more to do with human relationships than creativity. I learned early on about listening to people—that aesthetics come after emotions, that acceptance is key, and that modest humility is beneficial.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

Yes, I do believe creativity is something you’re born with. But curiosity is a part of our DNA. How you tame creativity and adapt it to the circumstances of each job and each client can be learned. However, you have to want to be taught and you have to want to learn.

What’s the last dream you had?

I seldom dream about design … I can’t really remember and yet I know I dream a lot!

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

Honestly? I really don’t care about what people would write about me. I would actually prefer they didn’t and I don’t think they should. The work that we do is essentially temporary; it is born out of a moment in time and uniquely a private reflection of a person’s tastes and desires. What would there be to write about without context?

Follow @RCouturier on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

David Shadrack Smith

Before founding Part2 Pictures, David Shadrack Smith left his native Brooklyn to begin his career as a journalist and cameraman in Beijing, China, later returning to the US to produce and film long-form documentaries for National Geographic’s Explorer. His storytelling experiences led him to found Part2 Pictures, a film and television production company dedicated to telling stories around the world through a human lens.

The result is more than a decade of award-winning premium television, film and podcast production, including acclaimed series such as “This is Life” with Lisa Ling, “Taste The Nation with Padma Lakshmi”, “Belief” with Oprah Winfrey, and feature films such as “An Honest Liar” (2014). Check out Part2 Pictures’ latest projects on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

The first creative project I remember was working as an intern on a feature documentary about the Vietnam War and the echoes of that on the personal lives of those it touched. I started as an intern, but it was so chaotic and fluid and by the bootstraps that, by attrition, I ended up being a producer and going with the film to Sundance. The whole experience was one of scrappiness, with a rotating cast of people who would drop by—from Oliver Stone to Michael Moore—to encourage us to keep at it, even when it looked impossible to finish (no money, no guidance). I learned from that film that there is a community of filmmakers who are passionate enough to get things done, no matter what.

Of course, my next job was directing karaoke videos, so it wasn’t a great career accelerator, but the experience of making a truly indie doc back in the day was formative. 

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Crafted emotional experiences.  

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

Every project is collaborative in the deepest sense, so that would have to be … every project. Certainly, our long collaboration with Lisa Ling has been definitive, and working closely with Oprah Winfrey on “Belief” was a life highlight. But whether it’s the amazing people we work with in front of the camera—Lisa, Sanjay Gupta, Padma Lakshmi, and more—or the people who pour their curiosities and devotion to telling great stories into their work behind the camera, I can’t separate the process of making a film from the process of collaborating. So, they are all my favorites.  

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

I can’t think of a project I haven’t learned from doing. But when I founded Part2 and was trying to figure out how to grow from being a director/producer into a leader/creative director, I had to learn to give others the reins, even when every instinct in me was crying to grab the camera or get my hands on the process. 

One of our first employees gave me a great piece of advice. She said, you have to trust that everyone comes to work with the intention to do their best, and your job is to support and guide them to thrive. I think that was something I had to figure out as we grew and collaboration became the central feature of my work life. 

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think we are all inherently creative, but I think of creativity more as a process than a flash of some great creative outpouring. Yes, ideas will come out of nowhere, it seems, but putting those ideas into form—whether it’s music, film, painting or cooking—is where the real work begins. And that, I think, is something you learn. You have to trial and error everything and build from there. None of that you are born with. It’s a practice.

What’s the last dream you had?

I’m very bad at remembering my dreams. I know some people have that muscle, but for me, I’m a blank slate when I wake up. I use those waking moments to sift through memories of people and places, kind of visiting them in half-wakefulness. 

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

I think collectively the work we are doing right now is part of just an overwhelming amount of visual material that future generations will inherit and have to make sense of.  I think being a documentary filmmaker, I believe I am creating some sense of the disorder so that people now and people in the future can feel connected to one another.

Follow Part2 Pictures on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life

Sarah Kempa

Sarah Kempa, better known to her fans on Instagram as “Aunt Sarah Draws,” is a cartoonist and illustrator based in New York whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, the book New Erotica for Feminists, and other humor publications. Many of her cartoons touch upon situational anxieties and guilt related to shopping, insomnia, and friendships, and relationships—and as her skyrocketing popularity on social media indicates, many people can relate.

Check out Aunt Sarah Draws’ latest projects on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

When I was five, I remember making tons of things out of cardboard—I made my entire family customized cardboard shoes (more like slides), a vacuum cleaner that functioned more as a dust pan, and a camera that I would pull little illustrations that were meant to be photos. I loved cardboard and tape.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Simple. Effortless. Brisk.

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

I truly love to collaborate with others on projects because I tend to learn so much. Everyone works so differently in ways I wouldn’t initially expect, so I find myself finding new ways of managing work, communicating, and incorporating feedback. A couple of years ago, I worked on illustrations for a short humor book (New Erotica For Feminists), and though quite fulfilling and exciting on its own as a project, I learned so much in the book publishing process in seeing a book go from pitch to development that I have taken away and leveraged in creative pitches for my own work.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

Each one does! I find once I move past disappointment, I learn quite a bit from my rejections—how I can improve something, where something was unclear, ways to make my work stronger and more coherent. I used to focus so much on trying to draw “better,” and now I focus on how I can be a better storyteller.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think everyone is creative, but I think it’s also something that benefits from regular practice. I find I am most creative when I wake up early and spend a couple hours going through idea generation exercises and least creative when I am watching reality TV, texting my friends about “not feeling very creative :/”.

What’s the last dream you had?

I’ve been having a lot of dreams lately about going to the airport or purchasing a car. Most recently I dreamt about arriving back home after being at the Berlin airport, realizing I forgot something, so then turning around and flying back to Berlin while wearing a mask.

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

No! This is too much pressure! I refuse! I don’t expect anyone to be talking about my work in 100 years, but if they do, I expect it to be in some sort of secondary school where they have access to old instances of the internet. Maybe a student stumbles upon one of my cartoons while researching millennial anxiety born out of the social media era for a history paper and makes a note to reference it in the appendix alongside a Tinder screenshot and Tumblr page while thinking about the intergalactic party they are going to that weekend and what space suit they should wear. 

Follow @AuntSarahDraws on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life