Meet Samantha Mintz: Writer / Illustrator / Photographer

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

Hi Samantha, what’s your definition for success?
I think success is best defined as progress. There’s a popular notion that success is the moment you’ve “made it,” whether that’s landed a big gig, an award, a raise, etc. But I believe success is fluid, non-linear, and shouldn’t be restricted to a singular moment or accomplishment. Any time I’m able to take pause, and appreciate how far I’ve come, whether that’s in my career, my creative pursuits, my relationships, or my self-improvement, is a moment where I’m celebrating my successes thus far.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In the context of career and craft, if I could offer my younger self one sage word of advice, it would be this: Embrace the slash. Living in a city like Los Angeles, almost everyone you meet is a slash—barista/actor/screenwriter, comic book artist/DJ/dog walker, ad exec/painter/cyclist—you get the jist. It’s been meme-d and parodied to a point of absurdity, which is probably at least part of the reason I resisted the ill-fated slash in how I identified when I first moved to this sunny hot spot of creativity. Add to that erroneous ideas that if I pursued other creative interests with too much passion, that somehow meant I was less committed to my primary craft; writing. I think many multidisciplinary creatives can relate to that feeling. “I should be doing _____ instead” was a mantra that played on repeat whenever I pursued a creative outlet that wasn’t writing. But, to put it bluntly, that line of thought is absolute bullshit. Having varied interests, and a plethora of creative pursuits, does not make you any less focused, driven, determined, or passionate. And in most creative careers, it doesn’t make you any less successful either. In fact, it’s usually the inverse. By day, I work as a writer at a pretty-dope advertising agency named 72andSunny. But by night, I work on my craft as an illustrator, a photographer, and a storyteller. And those night time passion projects needn’t negate the love and fire I feel for my day job. They coexist in a big, beautiful, sometimes sleepless, but always rewarding, symbiotic relationship. Coming to understand this, and embrace it was incredibly freeing, and helped me see that being a slash is an asset—memes be damned. So with that monkey off my back, I’ve been able to dedicate far more creative capacity towards my illustration, storytelling, and photography work. Right now, I’m investing most of my free creative time in identifying and developing my personal illustration style. After spending my entire life as an artist completely blind to it, I’m finally starting to see consistencies within my work, and now I’m focused on honing those. It’s a really exciting and exhausting time in my life as a creative creature, and it wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t learned to embrace the slash.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To describe Los Angeles as a behemoth of a metropolis would be a gross understatement. This beast is hard to wrangle or rank. But I’ll attempt to rank a few of my favorite haunts, category by category. Whether you’re a don’t-talk-to-me-until-I’ve-had-my-coffee type, or a mid-day pick-me-upper like myself, you’d be remise to miss out on Alana’s Coffee Roasters in Mar Vista, home of (in my humble opinion) the best latte in Los Angeles. A few other great spots to grab a cup of joe are Bloom & Plume, an insanely beautiful, Black-owned, community-oriented coffee shop just south of Echo Park, Maru Coffee in Los Feliz and Downtown, Stories in Echo Park for the atmosphere, and this one will sound absurd, but TOM’S, as in the shoe brand, has a flagship retail location in Venice on Abbot Kinney with a cafe and they also low-key have one of my favorite lattes in LA. Now let’s talk eats: Tsujita in Sawtelle (order the tsukemen) is probably one of my favorite restaurants on earth, and any time I have guests in town, we’re going to go here at least once. Another place I like to take friends is Night + Market’s WeHo location; from food to vibe, this is such a special place. A few other favorites, in no particular order, are pita sandwiches at Hasiba in Mid City, beet tacos from The MV Grab-N-Go in Mar Vista, any tacos from HomeState, literally anything and everything, but especially the focaccia, at Felix Trattoria in Venice, and everything at Bestia (Downtown), Scopa Italian Roots (Marina Del Rey), Little Fatty (Mar Vista), Forma (Santa Monica), and of course Gjelina’s (Venice), my first LA restaurant obsession. And always, ALWAYS, Salt & Straw for dessert. While I’m not a huge drinker myself, LA is loaded with cool bars and clubs worth checking out. Aesthetically, my favorite is probably Clifton’s in Downtown, and another classic is The Brig in Venice. Button Mash is a crazy fun barcade in Silver Lake. There’s no shortage of entertainment, I think that’s more of a do-what-you’re-into thing versus a specific recommendation, but I would encourage you to check out the LA comedy scene. And if you feel wiggly, check out one of LA’s many rotating event series, like Club 90s or Funky Soul. Craving some creative inspiration? While I’m quite partial to the Broad, smaller art galleries and print fests are where it’s at. Giant Robot and Superchief are two of my personal favs.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I feel incredibly grateful for the continuous support, love, and encouragement in pursuing my creative projects and profession I receive from family and friends alike. And there’s no way in heck I’d be where I am today without my alma mater SCAD, or without the mentorship and trust I’ve received working at 72andSunny. But if I had to shoutout any one person in particular, it would undoubtedly be my best friend, boyfriend, and partner in shenanigans for life Garrett. Whether it’s listening to me drone on and on about wild and dumb advertising ideas for work, building on and improving a creative concept for a story or illustration, or just being the wonderful, loving, kind, funny, smart, supportive soul he is with every endeavor I embark on, he proves time and time again to be the best human bean I know. I’m so delighted to call him my partner.

Website: samanthamintz.net
Instagram: @deadwolfmakes
Twitter: @deadwolfmakes
Other: Come hangout with me on Twitch at twitch.tv/deadwolfmakes