Meet Samantha Hart | Creative Director/Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Samantha Hart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samantha, what principle do you value most?
Embracing a creative life has always been paramount to my personal journey. That’s what feels authentic to me. I have always strived to be true to myself.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have gotten to the place in my life where the creative boundaries have more than blurred–they have disappeared. I built my career as a creative director in the record and film business. When I started my company doing production and post production in the advertising world, I never thought it would grow to fifty people with offices in two cities, and I would be consumed by profit and loss statements more than growing creatively. While it was exciting to grow the business, when I realized it came with the cost of stepping away from my creative soul, after twelve years, I decided to close it down. That’s when I began to truly live as an artist.

As part of re-claiming my creative voice, I wrote a memoir about my crazy teenage years entitled Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell. Writing Blind Pony was incredibly freeing to me, and the experience ignited a passion in me as a writer. I just finished my second book entitled Desperation Will Kill You which will be published soon.

As a creative director, I started a new company I named Wild Bill, after one of the characters in my book. I am currently going into production on a campaign I wrote for a new sports drink that promises to rival Gatorade. I appreciate the belief my clients have in me that I will deliver for them. It doesn’t matter what size the project is or whether it’s for a fortune 500 company, a start-up, or a non-profit, my goal is always to exceed their expectations by pushing the creative boundaries.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I’m not working on a set for a production or traveling to a location, I am pretty much at home writing these days. That said, there are so many things I love to do and places I love going to in LA. Beyond Malibu and hiking the trails which is my absolute favorite thing to do, I love Zibby Books on Montana Avenue which has become a cultural mecca of sorts for bookish folks.

For years, I was based in Beverly Hills, but gradually migrated west to Malibu Canyon/Calabasas. However, lately, I’ve been feeling my inner compass being pulled in an easterly direction, so much so, that I recently bought a place in Highland Park that I’m in the process of renovating. There are so many cool places to go and things to discover that resonate for me in Silver Lake and Highland Park including the diverse culture, art scene, old-school taquerias and trendy bistros. I absolutely love going to Highland Park Bowl for bowling with my sons. Besides the bowling, it’s a place they both can eat with both meat and vegetarian options. Discovering Highland Park has me rekindling my love affair with Los Angeles all over again.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I can look back at my third grade teacher, Miss McKelvey, and recognize that I never would have become the person I am without her. She recognized the artist in me, and encouraged me to crawl out of the dark place I was in and shine. I have carried that feeling within me, and I know that it’s helped me over the years to encourage others to shine. Showing someone that you believe in them can make all the difference in someone’s life.

Website: www.wildbill.la, samanthahart.net

Instagram: @therealsamhart

Image Credits
Blind Pony artwork by Nick Egan.