From time to time I like to interview some of the successful people that are involved with entertainment and related industries. In this interview I decided to look closer to home. I chose Mark Lewkowicz, owner of Creation Network. Many of my readers, and anyone who has visited my online store, are familiar with the work Mark does, as he is the graphic artist I use for all my artwork. You can find Mark's website at http://www.creationnetwork.com/
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Broward County, Florida just northwest of Fort Lauderdale. I have lived here for 37 years. I love it.
One question that some of my readers from across the country and world may wonder about is what is it like to live in Florida, since it tend to be hit by Hurricanes often?
I have been in Florida for 37 years and have only been hit by one hurricane. It is a daunting thing, but most anywhere you live you deal with tornadoes, earthquakes, ice storms, sink holes. If I worried about it, I would never get out of bed. The weather and year-round opportunities in Florida far outweigh the risk of hurricane for me.
What was your family like?
My family consists of Mom and Dad and two older sisters. I had a good family life growing up. We had some tough times financially, but as a child I never noticed. Played sports, went camping with the family. I had a lot of great memories growing up.
Was education a focus for your family?
I cannot say that education was a high priority for my family. Good values and hard work were stressed more than education.
How important is education for your kids? What about extra-curricular activities (ie. art, band, acting)?
I have put a bigger impact on education for my two daughters. They are both very talented volleyball players and I believe that they can get a nice scholarship to college. But, you have to keep up your grades. We monitor that very closely.
How did you become an artist?
When I was a child I used to do what a lot of kids did. I drew pictures and was fascinated with comic books. I used to draw super heroes and such. I kept it up and got better and better. When I was in high school, a teach of mine said "What is it that you do well that gives you pleasure." I thought about that long and hard. I truly loved to draw. He said that if you do what you love, the success will come. He let me out of his science class and arranged for me to have special art training with the art teachers. They set up a special program just for me and it turbo-charged my love for art.
Did you go to school or college for design?
Yes I did. I went to a community college for a couple of semesters. Then I realized that I wasn't getting the art training I needed. It felt like 13th grade to me. I was working as a graphic artist at the time for a local newspaper and considered going on full time with them. Instead, I went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. There I got intensive art training in several subjects including: life drawing, perspective, photography, art history, marketing and more. I graduated at the top of my class and was ready to put my training to the test.
Do you think everyone should go to college?
People may not like this answer, but I do not think that college is for everyone. I believe that there are talented people who are entrepreneurs that can go right into business and make a fine living. There are many self made people that have never had a formal education. In business, you learn by experience. For some people, the sooner they start, the sooner they are successful.
Is education important or real world experience?
To a certain extent - yes. You need to be educated in order to comprehend. But I believe that if you educate yourself in how to deal with people and communication skills, that is more important. I read "How To Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie and it changed my life.
What did you do after school?
I was promoted to assistant art director at the newspaper I worked with. Soon after that, some of the people at that newspaper left and started another paper nearby. They asked me to be the art director for that paper. I accepted and within 2 years, we became 5 newspapers and a print shop. I ran the whole operation. It was a blast. I was young and working very hard and loved every minute of it.
Why did you start your own company? Why graphic design?
While I was the art director for the newspaper, I was doing freelance work. The freelance work became so lucrative, that I was making more than my salary as the art director. I then came up with a concept to start an agency called Creation Network. I would bring together talented people who could do anything a client needed that has to do with art.
A lot of my readers wonder how difficult owning a business can be. Was your business an instant success?
Not at first. As a matter of fact, at one time I was 2 weeks away from going out of business. I landed a large client and things took off from there. That was over 19 years ago. I still run Creation Network today.
So what kind of graphic design work do you do?
I no longer do full service agency work or media buying. I do strictly graphic design work for people. I do: logos, brochures, package design, ads, mailers, postcards and more. Anything that can be printed, I can design.
What type of clients do you have?
I do not have any large, big name clients. Most of my clients are business people who need one time graphic design work. Some clients are larger and I do artwork for them consistently. I specialize in people who do not have the budget for a large graphic design firm, but need expert graphics at a reasonable price.
What was the most fun graphic you have ever made? The most odd/memorable?
I truly enjoy doing cartoon work. I once drew a robotic crawfish for a robotics company in Louisiana. That was quite unique.
For those that are wondering, where is your office?
I am located in Coral Springs, Florida. I work from home. I have a dedicated office and usually work Monday through Friday 8 AM-4 PM. This allows me to spend a lot of time with my family and come and go as I please.
Since this is an election year, and many feel it's an important election, what are your top concerns for any future president?
I am truly concerned with oil prices and our dependency on oil in general. We need to start tapping into our own natural resources AND alternative resources. I am also concerned with our world wide reputation. We have a lot of repairing to do with our image and how we deal with foreign countries.
How important is the Iraq War to you?
Wow, that is a powerful question. I have been a little removed from that situation. I do not know anyone who has been affected by it directly. I believe that it may be an impossible battle that can never be won. The Iraqi people need to get their own country under control and we need to get out.
I thank Mark for the interview, and I hope it - like all my interviews - will inspire and help all of my readers, their friends, and co-workers.
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