Multiply Art by the Power of Two: Six of Charlotte’s Coolest Creative Couple
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When Cupid struck these creative couples, we all got lucky. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we want to introduce you to some of Charlotte’s most creative couples. Last year, we got a tremendous response for the seven creative couples we featured on Feb. 14. So, it was high time to do it again!
Sourced via Instagram, these couples truly bring out the best in each other, and because their best includes art, media, design, food and beverage, photography, dance, and music, we all reap the benefits when their creative sparks fly. Read on to find out more about these captivating couples in the Queen City.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
MAIN PHOTO: Married creatives Manoela Madera and Gray Edgerton (KiiK Create). Read about them here!
Rel and Saloan Dunlap
PHOTO CREDIT: @cheryseterry
How long have you lived in Charlotte?
- Rel: All of my life
- Saloan: Since I was 4 years old
In what creative media do you work? What skills do you use?
Rel: Music and clothing design
Saloan: Digital art and photography
Do you do creative work together? What’s the first project you remember working on together?
Yes, we do creative work together. The first project we worked on was actually music. Saloan would photograph Rel for many of his music projects. We’ve pretty much collaborated and exchanged ideas and skill sets on everything we’ve created. Our greatest creation together, of course, is our 2-year-old son, Kingston.
What’s one thing you love about Charlotte’s creative community?
We love the growth and the acceptance of Charlotte’s creative community. We’ve been around this city for a long time and back when we started, it just felt like everything we did fell on deaf ears. Now there are so many creative outlets in Charlotte that are helping to fund creatives or at the least bring them exposure, and we really enjoy watching it all unfold.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
With a 2-year-old, we have to play it by ear. But one thing’s for certain, we’re going to eat well.
What’s a collective creative goal you have in 2022?
Our goal is simply to exist. Whatever creative venture we feel like doing, we’re just going to do it. No more putting pressure on ourselves to be one type of creative. If we want to paint one day and then design clothes the next, that’s just what we’re going to do. [We’re] putting all of our talents on the table to co-exist.
Connect with Rel and Saloan:
How can people tip you online?
- CashApp: $relmariano and $queenloany
Julio and Megan Gonzalez
PHOTO CREDIT: Hector Vaca
How long have you lived in Charlotte?
- Julio: 25 years
- Megan: 9 years
In what creative media do you work? What skills do you use?
Julio: Magik. I’m mostly a multidisciplinary artist. Paintings, murals, photography, video, performance art. I dabble in a lot of mediums.
Megan: Acrylic painting, watercolor, charcoal, digital illustration, murals. I am also a freelance graphic designer.
Do you do creative work together? What’s the first project you remember working on together?
We create and discuss art while listening to beats or watching horror movies together. We’re also involved with the Latinx art group, OBRA Collective. Our first project together was a mural in Concord, N.C. of a chameleon on Obama’s finger, with glow-in-the-dark paint that spelled out “hope.” But our best work to date has been our amazing child.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
Julio is going to make us a delicious meal, probably homemade pasta. For dessert, something dark chocolate with red wine. If we were to go somewhere, we’d go to Soul Gastrolounge for some classy cocktails.
What’s one thing you love about Charlotte’s creative community?
There are so many pockets of artists in Charlotte and lots of talent. More BIPOC artists are creating spaces for themselves, getting highlighted and hired. It’s inspiring to see. We also love that more murals are popping up around the city.
What are some collective creative goals you have in 2022?
To paint some murals in our house, get approved for 501(c)3 status for OBRA Collective, and get connected with Cheech Marin so that he comes and shows his art collection in Charlotte!
Connect with Julio and Megan:
- WEB: https://www.wonderwhatif.com/biocv and https://megangonzalezdesign.com/
- IG: @gonza_art and @megangonzalezdesign
How can people tip you online?
- Venmo: @JuliotheMexican and @meg-g-nogg
Gi Grier and Taaj Ameer
(Photo credit: Christian Wilson of PEO Productions)
How long have you lived in Charlotte?
- Gi: QC unicorn – born and raised!
- Taaj: 12 years
In what creative media do you work? What skills do you use?
Gi: I’m host of the podcast, The Black Vibrations, and a content creator for a few local brands.
Taaj: I am the co-host of the podcast and a sound engineer. I use the skills I’ve learned making music as an artist, producer and engineer to make sure our podcast has the best sound quality. I also have my own label: Still Bread Entertainment.
Do you do creative work together? What is it?
Yes. We have a dope podcast that specializes in promoting Black excellence for entrepreneurs and creatives in the Charlotte community. Taaj is the sound engineer and producer. Gi is the creator and host.
What’s one thing you love about Charlotte’s creative community?
How versatile it is. Even after so many life events and changes, the community keeps on adapting.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
Private dinner in the city. We’re lowkey — or at least try to be.
What’s a collective creative goal you have in 2022?
Getting the podcast on a Charlotte billboard.
Connect with Gi and Taaj:
- WEB: https://TheBlackVibrations.com
- IG: @__therealchoc and @taajameer
How can people tip you online?
- CashApp: $TBVPod and $TaajAmeer
Emiliano Gonzalez Portino and Carolina Yanez
How long have you lived in Charlotte?
- Emiliano: Two-and-a-half years
- Carolina: It’s complicated, but 11-and-a-half years total.
In what creative media do you work? What skills do you use?
Emiliano: I work in strategic storytelling and as a creative consultant. I combine my experience as a playwright, screenwriter, theater director, advertising producer and brand strategist to help brands find their true voice and character. I turn chaos into something beautiful and effective. I do this all with a touch of evolutionary biology from my previous scientific life.
Carolina: I produce strategic brand content and work as a creative consultant. I use a little bit of my superpowers accumulated throughout my life, like photography, video production, podcasting, comedy, drama … drawing, lettering, karaoke and more.
Do you do creative work together? What’s the first project you remember working on together?
Yes. All we do is creative stuff when we’re together. Our first project together was rebranding a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We helped them clarify their brand identity and strategize their communication.
What’s one thing you love about Charlotte’s creative community?
That it’s diverse, on the rise and gaining momentum year after year.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
Our plan is to wait until our “threenager” finally falls asleep, dress up and sneak into the kitchen to have French fries and prosecco for dinner. We’ll watch independent foreign movies on the couch until midnight when we turn into pumpkins.
What’s a collective creative goal you have in 2022?
We want to open a creative lab for brands with a collaborative team of scientists, psychologists, behavioral economists, tech experts, artists — you name it. Everyone will contribute from their area of expertise to design unique creative solutions.
Connect with Emiliano and Carolina:
- WEB: https://thebrandbuildingshop.com
- IG: @emiportino and @cayoyin
How can people tip you online?
- Emiliano: DM to invite me for a beer
- Carolina: DM me to send me dried flowers
Audrey and Mark Baran
PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Howlett
How long have you lived in Charlotte?
- Audrey: 22 years
- Mark: 23 years
In what creative media do you work? What skills do you use?
Audrey: I’m a dance artist, creating and teaching contemporary dance through my company, Baran Dance, as well as at UNC Charlotte.
Mark: As a musician, I play solo classical guitar and upright bass for Sinners & Saints. I also do graphic design and illustration work, as well as stained glass. I do a lot of things.
Do you do creative work together? What’s the first project you remember working on together?
We have worked together on dance and music projects in the past with former dance companies and bands and would like to create more collaborations in the future. Mostly, we just really support each other in our respective arts, although Mark does a lot of design work for Baran Dance.
We also both picked up new crafts at the beginning of the pandemic (Mark: stained glass and Audrey: knitting and weaving). Together, we created @knitsandglass on Instagram as a fun side project.
What’s one thing you love about Charlotte’s creative community?
We love that, because the creative community is relatively small, there’s a lot of crossover between mediums, and people are eager to collaborate. So many of our friends are amazing artists in many different genres and we are all super supportive of each other, which is really important in Charlotte.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
We are going to Sister in Plaza Midwood with our friends and fellow creatives Ashley Proctor (@robotmuseart) and Jeremy Davis (@elonzowesley). We usually don’t do much for Valentine’s Day (although we did get engaged on Feb. 14, 2009 … how do you beat that?) but we’re really excited to try out the new concept restaurant.
What’s a collective creative goal you have in 2022?
We hope to spend more time making art and to make our creative work more sustainable in our lives.
Connect with Audrey and Mark:
How can people tip you online?
- Donate at www.baran.dance
- Venmo: @Marky-Mark-Baran
Stacy and Patrick McFall
How long have you lived in Charlotte?
- Stacy: 12 years
- Patrick: 22 years
In what creative media do you work? What skills do you use?
Stacy: Patrick and I are opening a new coffee shop this March in Madison Park called Madison Perk. There is a lot of creativity behind the scenes when opening a business, so we’ve been combining our prior music and theater backgrounds with social media to give our future customers a sneak peek at everything that goes into it.
Patrick: I am also a musician on the side. We will be offering live music at the shop, so not only do I get to be creative by playing music at the business that I built, but we get the opportunity to feature other up-and-coming artists from around the city of Charlotte.
Do you do creative work together? What’s the first project you remember working on together?
We collaborate on all the digital content and marketing efforts surrounding our coffee shop. We have so much fun creating the concepts to connect with our customers over social media, and we believe this is the reason we’ve been able to build such a large, engaged community before even opening. We have also worked together occasionally on small music projects over the years, and since we’ve been together for over 10 years, it’s hard to remember what the first one was!
What’s one thing you love about Charlotte’s creative community?
We love how supportive and generous this community is. Almost everyone we encounter has offered to help us get started in some way or another. It makes us feel welcomed while also serving as a reminder to pay it forward whenever we can. It’s the best!
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
Since Madison Perk is opening in just a few weeks, you’ll likely find us having a romantic night assembling furniture or stocking shelves!
What’s a collective creative goal you have in 2022?
We want to continue to reach more people in the community using humor and creativity on social media.
Connect with Stacy and Patrick:
- WEB: https://themadperk.com
- IG: @themadperk – @stacyqmcfall – @paddyperk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erika Ferrari Lopez is a Washington, D.C. native living in Charlotte. She’s a mother, wife and lover of food and words. Erika works on the advancement team at Charlotte Bilingual Preschool and is currently writing a children’s novel. You can find more of her writing on her website.