Faith Berger (1)

Painting in acrylic oil and mixed medium collage, Faith Berger takes inspiration from the world around her to create intriguing designs. Extrapolating from 30 years experience as a gallerist representing hundreds of artists and deft at art planning from conception to installation, Berger’s path to painting was a natural one. The St. Louis based artist’s intensive studies in design, art glass, sculpture, painting and art theory imbue her desire to create.

Scott Brandt (2)

The founder and CEO of MotoeXotica Classic Cars, Scott Brandt has an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, BFA from Maryville University in St. Louis, and BS from Arizona State University.

Cbabi Bayoc (3)

Cbabi Bayoc is an internationally-known visual artist and illustrator whose artwork reflects his love of family and music. Born Clifford Miskell Jr, he changed his first name after graduating from Grambling State University to reflect his artistic identity and purpose in life. Cbabi stands for Creative Black Artist Battling Ignorance. Shortly after, he legally changed his last name to Bayou (Blessed African Youth of Creativity) to help remind his future children of their value and worth. His job as a caricature artist at Six Flags in St. Louis became the catalyst for his current projects, including his “365 Days with Dad” Series which paints a positive image of black fatherhood for every day of the year. He has been commissioned as a muralist for several schools, businesses, nonprofits, and hospitals, painting images depicting the vibrancy and beauty of their local communities. He has also designed artwork for several album covers including Prince’s Rainbow Children Album and Violator Compilation Vol 1, which features music by Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Q-Tip, LL Cool J, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, and Big Pun. Most recently, Bayoc has been providing illustrations for children’s books. His goal is to continue painting a world for his children to thrive in.

Michael DrummonD (4)

Michael Drummond is a self-taught artist, fashion design consultant, and textile designer who appeared on the 8th season of Project Runway. During the pandemic, he co-founded Paper Temples, an art-to-wear line for women, comprised of easy yet edgy separates that marry practicality with dramatic design. Drummond loves working with large-scale prints, delicate knits, simple comfortable shapes, deconstruction, and a dark palette. Rather than creating a new collection each season, his designs build on a concept that can take years to come to fruition. This tactic has allowed him to choose a more thoughtful and ethical approach to clothing design, with the goal to create interesting and timeless pieces that reflect his novel sensibility. Drummond also works as a commercial stylist for print and film and as a costume designer for the opera, dance, and theatrical productions in the United States and Europe. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout St. Louis and across the country. His designs are loved and worn by many, including fashion model Heidi Klum, NY Fashion Week Founder, Fern Mallis, and actress Tika Sumpter.

Dianne Isbell (5)

Dianne Isbell, a 2019-2020 Saint Louis Fashion Fund In-Resident Designer, is the founder and CEO of HATS by DI-Anne. Her one-of-a-kind designs have received several local and national awards, while also attracting the attention of celebrity clients such as Lady Gaga and former President George Bush’s family. Selected as a featured milliner for the 2021 Kentucky Derby, she attributes her success in part to her mother and grandmother who taught her how to embroider, crochet, and sew as a young girl. She used those talents to make many of her own clothes during her professional career, as well as to create hat and fascinator designs. For the past 20 years, Isbell has been designing custom hats for every occasion. In 2020, she added fashionable face masks to her collection and donated over 900 of them to health care workers during the pandemic.

Afton Johnson (6)

Afton Johnson began studying fashion design her sophomore year of high school at CVPA. She continued her studies at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and Lindenwood University in St. Charles, where she was introduced to the local fashion show world. After graduation, she returned to her hometown of St. Louis and launched Young Addy Collection, a women’s contemporary line named after her daughter, Addisyn. For the past 13 years, Young Addy Collection has been producing designs for women, as well as custom pieces for men and children of all ages. Johnson loves working one-on-one with her clients and plans to expand her distribution to luxury boutiques and department stores. She also hopes to one day open up a flagship store and design school in the local St. Louis community.

Ashley Maurice (7)

Ashley Maurice’s passion for textiles and luxury goods can be seen in the creative mediums she chooses for her craft. When the head buyer for the Vault Luxury Resale isn’t working her magic at the upscale consignment shop, she keeps herself busy with paintbrush in hand, transforming once-loved designer goods into truly coveted one-of-a-kind items. Her roles in her career and life inspire her artistic works. Maurice is also the owner of Mother Mary, a specialty music goods company, that sells handcrafted guitar straps, gig bags, and more.

Audra Danielle Noyes (8)

After graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Audra Danielle Noyes worked with some notable fashion brands in New York including Ralph Lauren and Zac Posen, before continuing her training under Alber Elbaz at LANVIN in Paris. With a wealth of design and development experience, she launched her namesake brand, AUDRA, during Paris Fashion Week in 2014. In the past 7 years, she has designed and produced 14 collections, while managing the brand’s operations and expanding its reach globally. In 2017, she moved the brand from New York to St. Louis to join the Fashion Fund class. Recognized for her sophisticated and alluring pieces, Noyes has been named “One to Watch” by Women’s Wear Daily and “Bad Girl Fashion and Beauty Entrepreneur” by Forbes. Her pieces have been worn by Hollywood icons such as Susan Sarandon and Tracee Ellis Ross and have been featured in the pages of VOGUE and ELLE. She is a vital member of her local community, serving on the Young Professional Board of the World Chess Hall of Fame and Connections to Success Midwest.

Yvonne Osei (9)

Yvonne Osei is an acclaimed German-born Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist, fashion designer, and arts advocate. Her international creative practice explores topics of beauty, colorism, the authorship and ownership of history, and the residual implications of colonialism in postcolonial West Africa and Western cultures. Her work utilizes her textile designs and garments as artistic mediums to foreground socio-political issues of global concern. Osei received her MFA from Washington University where she was a Chancellor's Graduate Fellow, a Mr. and Mrs. Spencer T. Olin Fellow, and Danforth Scholar. She also holds an MS in Fashion Design and Business from Lindenwood University in St. Charles and a BFA in Graphic Design and BA in International Studies from Webster University. She has been invited as an artistic scholar to numerous colleges and universities and is the recipient of the 2018 St. Louis Visionary Award for Emerging Artist and the 2019 Futures Fund Grant by the Luminary in St. Louis. Osei has performed and exhibited her works at venues across the globe and has been invited as a guest juror for the 2021 St. Louis Art Fair, the 2021 Rise Exhibition in Alton, IL, and as a curator for the 2021 Creative Stimulus Exhibition in St. Louis.

Shevaré Perry (10)

Shevaré Perry is a multifaceted artist whose work explores the overlap of visual art with poetic dialogue. She believes that poetic storytelling paired with animated presentations are catalysts for conversation and increase the creative approach to language arts. Her works incorporate 3D mixed media collage and new media paired with poetry that celebrates Black womanhood, beauty and fashion. A graduate of Parkway North, Perry studied fashion and apparel design at Philadelphia University and has an MBA in International Business and Management from American Continental University London. She has taught fashion and design classes at LIM college in New York and at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. Perry is also the founder of Real Fashion Experience, an online project-based fashion curriculum for high school students. While sharing her story virtually, she helps inspire and guide students on their own paths towards artistic fulfillment.

Inspiration:
From Roanoke to Baltimore
Now I’m all over the world
My cells survive- thrive
In automatic overdrive
A married mother of five
Who wouldn’t survive
Without the option to decide
My cells circulate worldwide
Cells like none other
Used to discover
Immortal
Mine doubled
Plenty more
Every 20
24
HeLa cells galore
John Hopkins- Baltimore
Mother of Modern Medicine
I’m Henrietta

Marian Steen (11)

Marian Steen graduated from Washington University School of Fine Art and after raising her family, turned to the outdoor art show scene. She creates works on paper with large washes of watercolor and dripping paint in a wet-on-wet technique. From there, she adds subtle textures and collage materials in an abstract layering process. Handmade paper strings, found objects, and scraps of memorabilia are some of the unique items that can be found splashed across her work. As she incorporates objects connected to her memories, such as material from her mother’s favorite dress, antique lace from her grandmother, a tie from her father, or a ribbon from her daughter, she transforms the past into something new. Steen includes dark space to acknowledge the existence of pain and struggle in life but ultimately aims to create works of art that embody beauty and hopefulness. She wants people to be drawn into her work, taking a moment from their day to enjoy the interplay between color, line, and texture. Steen has been a visiting artist at various schools and organizations and has had her work published in several books.

Carlos Zamora/Courtney Tharpe (12)

Carlos Zamora is the founder of CARTEL, a strategy-led design firm specializing in aligning business, brand, and marketing strategies through iconic illustration, conceptual storytelling, and typographic excellence.

Zamora earned his Bachelor of Arts from Instituto Superior de Diseño in Havana. A design school heavily influenced by the Bauhaus, Russian social realism, and the mid-century modern Tropicalia movement. An author, design advocate and educator, he has served as President of AIGA St. Louis, the local chapter for the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the professional organization for design. He currently serves at the Art Advisory Board for Lambert International Airport and the Tennessee Williams Festival.

Designer Courtney Tharpe was born and raised here in St. Louis. After training at Parsons School of Design in NYC, where she specialized in womens ready-to-wear, Tharpe gathered a wide range of industry experience, working for couture house J. Mendel, assorted contemporary labels, and Lucky Brand, as well as collaborating with other independent designers on her own line after hours. After deciding to move back to her hometown in 2011, Tharpe has spent the past decade building a career in graphic design and marketing, continuing her work as a fashion designer through her eponymous line, Tharpe, consisting of elevated and sustainably made basics. 

Courtney is currently Chief Creative Officer of Generation Mindful and is honored to donate her time and abilities for such a worthy cause.