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CreativeMornings Seattle exists because people show up — for ideas, for creativity, and for each other.

Every month, we gather face-to-face to listen, learn, reflect, and connect. We share coffee, stories, questions, and high fives. We leave feeling a little more inspired — and a little less alone.

That kind of community doesn’t happen by accident. And because CM/SEA is always free and volunteer-run, it only works when our community decides to give a damn.

By donating, you help us cover the basic costs of events and keep us going strong. That support helps pay for the essentials — venue rentals, A/V, printed materials, coffee, breakfast, and the behind-the-scenes details that make each gathering possible.

If CM/SEA has ever inspired you, connected you to someone new, or helped you feel part of something bigger, we invite you to give back!

• We believe in the power of community.
• We believe in giving a damn.
• And we believe this creative community is worth sustaining.

👉 Donate to the Give A Damn Fundraiser

Thank you for helping keep CM/SEA open, welcoming, and full of possibility.

With gratitude,
CreativeMornings Seattle Team

We have exciting news to share! CreativeMornings Seattle is officially moving our monthly gatherings to Kerry Hall, one of Seattle’s most historic and inspiring creative spaces. Thanks to a new partnership with Seattle Theatre Group (STG), Kerry Hall will serve as the home for our next season of events — a place that embodies everything we believe in: community, connection, and creativity.

A Historic Space with a Fresh Purpose

Originally built in 1921 for Cornish College of the Arts, Kerry Hall has long been a home for artists, dancers, and dreamers. Now, under STG’s stewardship, it’s being reimagined as a community arts center and hub for Education & Community Engagement. From dance studios and rehearsal rooms to intimate performance spaces, Kerry Hall will continue its century-long legacy of creativity in the heart of Capitol Hill.

What This Means for Our Community

This move is more than a change of venue — it’s an expansion of what’s possible. Together with STG, we’re building a space where creativity feels accessible, collaborative, and alive. Our shared missions align beautifully: to make the arts welcoming for everyone and to amplify the voices shaping Seattle’s creative future.

Upcoming Events at Kerry Hall

Our first CreativeMornings events in our new home will kick off soon! Mark your calendars:

November 21, 2025 — Growth with Judy Lee, a narrative artist and community care advocate exploring identity, transformation, and human connection.

December 19, 2025 — Innovation

February 27, 2026 — Camino (“Way” / “Path”)

Each event will be hosted on Friday mornings, 8:30 – 10:00 AM, and remain free and open to everyone. As always, you can sign up for updates at creativemornings.com/cities/sea.

A Shared Vision for the Future

"Kerry Hall represents the intersection of Seattle’s historic arts legacy and its creative future," said Josh LaBelle, Executive Director of Seattle Theatre Group. CreativeMornings has always been about bringing people together to celebrate the creative spirit that defines our city. With STG and Kerry Hall, that spirit has a new home — and we can’t wait to fill it with your stories, energy, and ideas.

Join Us

Come experience the magic of Kerry Hall with us. Bring your curiosity, your coffee mug, and your creative spark. Together, we’ll continue to grow Seattle’s creative community one morning at a time.

The Pre-Beta Club, a CreativeMornings SEA community for early-stage tech builders, is your space to explore, experiment, and connect.

Bring your half-formed ideas, curious questions, or rough prototypes, and join a group of fellow makers, dreamers, and doers in Seattle’s tech scene. Together, we’ll tinker, share knowledge, swap stories, and encourage each other every step of the way.

✨ What to expect:

• Bi-weekly lunch gatherings in South Lake Union
• Collaborative, casual vibes
• Small group setting (20 creators max)
• A mix of structured activities and organic conversation

No matter if you’re coding your first app or sketching your tenth prototype, you belong here.

Learn more and join: prebeta.club

Join Cedar House Flowers for a 90-minute hands-on floral design class, where you’ll create with the season’s most beautiful blooms while enjoying bubbles, snacks, and plenty of good vibes.

Workshops are happening on:

• Sunday, October 28 at 4 pm
• Sunday, November 16 at 4 pm
• Sunday, December 7 at 4 pm

Location: 1621 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103

Website: https://www.cedarhouseflowers.com/

Bring a friend, sip, snack, and leave with a stunning arrangement you’ll be proud to show off.

Spots are limited, book your session now!

This month’s Espresso Shot featured AAF Seattle, the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation. They’re leading the charge to protect and grow Seattle’s creative community, most recently by advocating around the Digital Services Tax Law (SB 5814).

Want to support the cause and connect with fellow creatives?

Join AAF Seattle (scan the QR code from the event) and enjoy 10% off with the code: CREATIVEMORNINGS

From navigating the tension between “pixel perfect” polish to redefining creativity that clears the way for bigger ideas, Allison Perlis brings a refreshingly grounded perspective on what it means to create.

Read on for our conversation about challenges, advice, and the small joys that fuel Allison Perlis’ creative life.

We are all creatives.Describe what you do, make, or create in one sentence.
As a UX designer, I am responsible for designing experiences and user flows that feel intuitive and straightforward.

Creative Challenges: What are the top creative challenges that you face in your day-to-day?
One of my big challenges is that I want everything I create to be as refined and perfectly-crafted as possible, but perfection is an impossible goal! I’m always tempted to go back over what I’ve come up with and refine-refine-refine so that everything is modular and aligned, but that ends up taking too much time. I have to remind myself that it’s more important to take big swings and cover more ground (even if there are imperfections) than it is to deliver a narrow scope of work that is pixel perfect.

Defining Creativity: How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?
I think sometimes the word “creativity” can create a big, intimidating expectation of something incredible and groundbreaking - and that has its time and place, but creativity often plays out in smaller ways. How can you explain project goals to a client who’s not that “into” design? How can you create layout specifications for developers that will be easy and meaningful to them? If you can solve enough of these small-fry problems, you’ll make space for yourself to focus on bigger, more interesting questions.

Creative Advice: What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Be patient and trust the process! I’m a very impatient person and I’m often antsy to skip ahead to the “fun” parts of design, but taking the time to do all the research and the foundational work is how you set yourself up to do the best job possible when you finally get to the fun parts.

Reading Recommendations: What are you reading these days?
I often fall for the notion that you should always be “productive” in some way so I tend to read more nonfiction, but I’m trying to get back into narrative stories because it’s nice! To that end, I’m halfway through “My Brilliant Friend” and it’s really fun to escape into a story that’s not super related to current events or the usual topics I think about every day.

15 Extra Minutes: If you had 15 extra minutes each day, what would you do with them?
If I had 15 extra minutes, I would probably squander it by scrolling more on my phone. But if I was smart, I would use it do something enriching for my life—maybe I’d do a meditation or touch grass.

What happens when we let go and let growth surprise us?Join us for an inspiring morning with multidisciplinary artist Stephanie Krimmel as she shares her journey of a midlife pivot into art after 20 years in tech.Through personal stories and images, Stephanie invites us to explore how blossoming can be unpredictable, nonlinear, and more beautiful for it. Her incredible Daily Art Habit spans over 2600 consecutive days of digital painting practice—a living self-portrait of growth and transformation.
Come for reflection, art, and inspiration. Perhaps you’ll discover where your own unexpected blossom might take root. ✨Part of our series on Blossom at ArtLove Salon.

Date: Friday, Sep 26

Time: 8:30-10 AM

Location: ArtLove Salon

What does it mean to live a nomadic life, not by location, but by passion, purpose, and reinvention?

Masoud Torabi has lived many lives, and not just across continents. From novelist to product leader, yoga teacher to pizza aficionado, his journey is a testament to the power of curiosity, courage, and creative reinvention.

An Iranian-American writer, product leader, and storyteller, Masoud has navigated cultures, careers, and callings, publishing novels, rolling out enterprise systems, teaching yoga, and perfecting his cast-iron pizza game. A gay immigrant with an MBA, Harvard credentials, and years of experience leading cross-functional teams, he blends strategic clarity with a storyteller’s heart in everything he does.

In his talk, Masoud will explore what it means to embrace movement, both internal and external, as a path to deeper self-connection, expanded creativity, and a life defined by intention rather than expectation.

Come for the inspiration, leave with permission to reimagine your own nomadic path.

Follow Masoud:
📷 Instagram: @hisnamewasmasoud | @mtcreativesolutions
💼 LinkedIn: Masoud Torabi

📅 Date: August 22, 2025 | 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
📍 Location: Blink UX Studio, 1011 Western Ave, Suite 600, Seattle, WA 98104

On August 6th, we’re flipping the script and hosting CreativeMornings after dark.

Join us at COLOR Creative’s studio in Bellevue for Creative Evening, a buzzing night of inspiration, music, and community. This isn’t your average talk series—it’s a celebration of mentorship, punk energy, and creative resilience in all its forms.

We’re thrilled to welcome three incredible voices from Seattle’s creative scene:

Nate Manny
From international tours with The Murder City Devils to global brand campaigns for Pepsi, KEEN, and Microsoft, Nate’s 20-year journey bridges music, design, and storytelling. He got his start building the brand for his band while earning his Fine Arts degree at Evergreen, and never looked back—navigating both agency and in-house roles with his signature creative grit.

Lance Mercer
A photographer who got into shows with a camera and a punk ethos, Lance’s work is as raw and real as the Seattle scene he came up in. “I didn’t have to be Ansel Adams to take photographs,” he says. “The same kind of ethos the Ramones had musically, I could apply photographically.” His lens captured a generation—and a movement.

Laura Stockwell
Laura brings a strategic mind and generous heart to everything she does. A leader in tech, design, and innovation, she’s helped Fortune 100 companies, agencies, and nonprofits unlock insights and drive real change. Her work is a masterclass in clarity, transformation, and building teams that make magic.

And because it’s COLOR, the night doesn’t stop with the talks. Expect:

• Live music by Bassafras
• Arcade games
• Karaoke
• Theremin lessons (yes, really)
• Hands-on creative activities and community surprises

Date: August 6, 2025

Time: 6 PM onwards

Location: COLOR Creative’s studio

Tickets Available Soon!

5 speakers, 5 minutes, 1 mic (and a clock)

For our June 27 event, we’re handing the mic to you. Let us know if you’re in!

The theme is PUNK, and this time our audience takes the stage for a series of short, 5-minute (or less!) presentations.

Got something to say or show about what punk means to you? Now’s your chance.

We’re looking for a mix of voices, formats, and perspectives. A story, poem, set of images, musical moment, or something else entirely. No rules! (Okay, a few rules.)

What to know:
💡 You don’t need a finished presentation to submit – just your idea.

📝 Deadline to submit: Monday, June 16

📆 Event: Friday, June 27, 8:30–10am

⌛ Presentations are 1–5 minutes, with up to 5 slides (optional).

✅ If you’re selected, we’ll let you know by June 18, with next steps.

This doesn’t have to be polished or perfect – we’re here for real, creative, and meaningful.