A big part of making decisions is determining what our actions and choices have been inspired by.  So we asked decision makers from the community to tell us about what they are inspired by.

Alina Hernandez | Emerging Artist & Performer

Music moves me. I’m inspired by all that it is, what it does, how it makes me feel, what color it looks like, the frequency it creates… All of it. Lalah Hathaway picks these notes in her riffs and runs that give me chills! Classic melodies like The Beatles sang are always fun. Robert Glasper mixes genres with jazz progressions that blow me away. John Williams and Hans Zimmer create emotions in movies with the music they make. I love music. It draws me to sing and enjoy it. Read more>>

Alexia Garcia del Rio | Director, Screenwritter & Producer

Ever since I was a child, I firmly believed in speaking out, standing against injustice and sharing my truth. I am inspired by change, evolution, openness and the ideals of freedom and equality. I want to be able to spread my message through the use of art, in my case, through filmmaking. Social awareness advocacy is my passion, since I grew up in a third world country, in which most of the population lives in extreme poverty. I want to generate change within the people and for the people, and I want to share my inspiration and power through my films and stories. Read more>>

Blanca Berrelleza | Hair Artist

What keeps me inspired in my industry is the talented people in it. I think what makes a good hair artist is to never look at anyone as competition, I feel like we are all resources for each other, those are the type of people I want to be around, I want to learn from them, level up with them. The only person I need to compete with is my self and to be better than my last haircut. That’s what inspires me to keep going. Read more>>

Matthew Clark | Actor, Writer, Editor, Director & Producer

I believe in treating others with respect, creating a safe and fair working environment, and listening to others’ creative input brings out the best possible outcome in creative production. Read more>>

Carole Choucair Oueijan | Fine Artist

As a visual artist, I am constantly inspired by other artists. Their ideas, their imaginations, their passion for creating something the world hasn’t seen before. When I go to a museum and get to see other artists creating from that inspired place, with their own mediums, it makes me excited to take on a new project and explore more creatively with my own art. I also love contemporary architecture. Walking into a beautifully designed building is truly being immersed in art. It moves me because even if I am working on a commission for someone else, and not a personal piece of art, I am able to take that motivation and create something new. Read more>>

Tyler Balderas | Photographer & Creative Director

I find inspiration in almost everything. In the work of other creatives, regardless of medium. I’m equally inspired by architects, interior designers, surrealist painters, stylists, and musicians as I am by my peers/contemporaries in photography. This may sound strange but I draw an immense amount of inspiration through people performing normal day to day tasks. Pre-quarantine I use to go for walks and sit in cafes with a notepad, people watching, allowing my mind to take in what I saw, maybe even overheard, and use that as fuel for creative concepts. Read more>>

Ashleigh Shapiro | Comedian, Actor & Fashion School Dropout

Being a comedian allots be the opportunity to share my inspirations, visions and perspectives on different platforms. I perform stand-up comedy, shorts, sketches, write and act. This medium gives me permission to absorb my daily life as a sponge. I absorb the emotions, the personalities and the situation as whole when I interact with others. Sometimes a trip to The Getty Museum impregnates me with a new thought, realization or perspective that I feel has to be shared or has mass appeal. I have a little family that keeps me only toes. We are constantly doing, be it trying a new trail for a hike, visiting the beach, trying to watch a movie. Read more>>

Viel Catig | Owner & Designer

My brand has always reflected my own eclectic personality. Since childhood I have always liked the unconventional, the weird and the awkward yet it took me long into young adulthood till I came to accept that being eclectic is okay. I consider myself an old soul, so loving everything vintage was a given — Art Deco, the Roaring Twenties, motifs from Regency and Victorian eras. When I was in college, I became enamored with Asian street fashion, especially from Japan and South Korea… their bold and unapologetic approach to style was something I gravitated to. All of that fuels the creativity behind 23rd&Hare. Just me putting it out on to the universe… its alright to be unique, a little bit eccentric. Read more>>

Luciana Abait | Visual Artist

My artworks are inspired by the environment that surrounds me. While living in Miami, the ubiquitous water and blue skies of the city led me to create multiple bodies of work that depict these elements of nature in their pure form. My “Underwater” series originated then, and it explores the fascinating architectural landscapes found underwater in swimming pools. When I moved to Los Angeles fifteen years ago, I encountered its own unique vegetation, mountainous areas, deserts and snow. All these elements produced a big impact on my art practice as they started becoming the main themes of my work. Read more>> 

Aurora Allen, M.A., RYT-500 | Behavioral Health & Embodiment Coach

People who show up to do their individual work in healing so they can show up better for themselves, others, and the world at large. Read more>>

Rathin Rao | Writer / Director

My family will always be there for me, but anything and everything can inspire you if you look from a different perspective. You have to be open for inspiration which does not mean you look for it. You’re minding your business and it will hit you out of nowhere. I’m inspired by the way people show kindness or talk about stuff they are passionate about. Read more>>

Anna Owsian | Founder

I am definitely inspired by diversity, people’s stories, dreams, simple & contemporary aesthetic, travel destinations and of course my beloved yoga and spiritual world! When I am asking myself what inspiring me the most I can definitely see that people’s lives-their stories and the path they had to overcome to become who they are. That’s why I also love and appreciate what I do. As a yoga teacher I share with my clients the yoga practice and in reverse they often naturally share with me their very authentic self. We invite each other to the space where with compassion, kindness, understanding we work physically and mentally on our lives.. and it’s a beautiful, inspiring, rewarding and a very transforming process which I am truly grateful for! Read more>>

Dawn Airhart Witte | Founder, Author, International Speaker & Life Coach

Love and Kindness inspire me above all else. To know that I can lend a helping hand, a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on is powerful. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived- this is to have succeeded..” Those words inspire me to live a life of service to others as I feel there is no higher calling. I know so many people helping so many lives “breathe easier.” My friend Carole founded the Dawg Squad, She spends her days and “free” time rescuing dogs in Los Angeles and placing them in loving forever homes. My friend Wendy founded the Beauty Bus which provides beauty services to patients and caregivers to help lift their spirits while in the hospital or home bound due to medical conditions. Read more>>

Kayla van de Bunt & Maggie Stabile | Podcasters & Independent Filmmakers

We’re inspired by big questions! The unknown. We’re fascinated by our human inability to sit with unanswered or unanswerable questions, so we decided to force ourselves to do it every week. It hasn’t gotten easier, but that’s what’s fun and exciting about it. We’ve learned to find humor and joy in unfinished stories. We’ve learned to let go of the need for tidy resolutions. We’ve learned how to ask questions knowing we won’t get answers. That’s what inspires us. And the money. Just kidding, there’s no money. Read more>>