It’s a new era – like a recycled Reneissance, where we once again begin to emphasize the arts and are concentrating on people who create the goods and services we consume, not those who manage and resell. There is an entirely new “class” of people, the creative class (if interested, read Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life).

For those not familiar with the term, the Creative Class is a socioeconomic class that has been identified as a key driving force for economic development of post-industrial cities in the United States. Creative Class is comprising 40 million workers—30 percent of the U.S. workforce—and breaks the class into two broad sections, derived from Standard Occupational Classification System codes:

  • Super-Creative Core: This group comprises about 12 percent of all U.S. jobs. It includes a wide range of occupations (e.g. science, engineering, education, computer programming, research), with arts, design, and media workers forming a small subset. Florida considers those belonging to this group to “fully engage in the creative process”. The Super-Creative Core is considered innovative, creating commercial products and consumer goods. The primary job function of its members is to be creative and innovative.
  • Creative Professionals: These professionals are the classic knowledge-based workers and include those working in healthcare, business and finance, the legal sector, and education.

In addition to these two main groups of creative people, the usually much smaller group of Bohemians (I love that term!) is also included in the Creative Class.

Creative Class will be the leading force of growth in the economy, and is expected to grow by over 10 million jobs in the next decade.

The diverse and individualistic lifestyles enjoyed by the Creative Class involve active participation and experiential activities that are multidimensional. Street Level Culture may include a “teeming blend of cafes, sidewalk musicians, and small galleries and bistros, where it is hard to draw the line between participant and observer, or between creativity and its creators”. Members of the Creative Class enjoy unique experiences like traveling and antique shopping, and outdoor activities like bike riding and running, and would rather be participants than spectators.

I’ve decided to start a new, regular section of the site. In Creative By Nature, I want to interview creative people around me and find out:

  • their background,
  • their occupation,
  • what inspires them,
  • how they stay creative &
  • what they like to do for fun.

Everyone has a story that deserves to be told. More importantly, I’m looking for stories of “becoming” – I ended up here accidentally, and am looking to see how others got here. I am most curious to find out how people manage to do what they love, and make money while doing it, as this is becoming of crucial importance in my own life. Perhaps, on this journey, I discover where it is I am meant to go from here.

I have a few incredible people in mind; however, if you know someone who you feel is inspiring, and you think I should write about them, let me know.