We’re looking forward to introducing you to Clarissa Butler. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Clarissa, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
What I find interesting is how people underestimate the amount of logistics that go into a large scale art or design project. What they are interpreting is the professional media of the finished product, the photo/video of the final work and say things like “wow, it must be so fun to create all day and work with artists.” While yes, I am lucky that I get to “create” for a living, that is just a percentage of what I do overall. There is a multitude of logistics that go into a design or creation: client meetings, city and county approvals, paperwork, contracts, insurance, scheduling, coordination with multiple teams, quality control, and always “surprises” that arise – things you couldn’t even imagine! Navigating challenges and problem solving are a big part of the game. It’s always very satisfactory getting to the final product, but there’s always a lot of blood, sweat and tears along the way.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am the Founder of CB Creative Agency, Inc.
Professional Experience: Her curation and design sensibilities and ability to execute large scale projects seamlessly, makes her unique to the creative space. She is a multi-hyphenate excelling in Art Procurement, FF&E, Interior Styling, Exterior Consulting, large scale murals, Visual Assets, Brand Identity, Custom Fabrications and producing media for content creation. Raised on the East Coast, Clarissa has lived in California for 20+ yrs and loves working with innovative artists and creators. She thrives in the creative business space working with corporate and commercial development, luxury and multi-family residential, art, fashion, and lifestyle brands.
When she’s not obsessing over the details you’ll find her gaining perspective at galleries & museums, traveling & exploring on a new adventure, luxuriating at a boutique hotel, two steppin’ to old school hip hop, or cracking up at a local comedy club. As a former Art Teacher, she also loves mentoring young artists and inspiring them to follow their dreams and working with community to support their endeavors in creative and charitable spaces.
Current projects: multiple office re-designs, large scale murals, public sculpture,
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I am so lucky to have a close relationship with my high-school Art teachers – Mrs. Coulson and Mr. Cisna – I believe they saved me! I was highly excelling at dance at that time, yet a bit rebellious when it came to school attendance and work. I got into art heavily my senior year, and they would pull me aside and give me pep talks and praise my talent- they saw my potential way back when and made sure I knew it. I even went to college where Mrs. Coulson went, as she encouraged me to go there. By chance, I ended up living in the same apartment she did many years later! I was able to design my major in the Fine Arts and really came around to love learning in college. We still stay connected regularly, sharing our latest creations, and when I’m in town, I visit with them and we grab food and/or go to art museums together. I feel so blessed that they had such a positive influence on me, still ’til this day!
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
In the spirit of vulnerability, I went through a very tough time at the end of 2024 through last year. People I had fully trusted with my business took advantage, and I’ve always been one to learn the hard way! The level of deception and hole I was in, as well as the slowing of my industry made me want to throw in the towel. Luckily, I was introduced to some amazing advisors who guided me to stay the course, and trust that it will turn around. For once though, in that period, I actually had time to reflect and digest all that had been done and created: my business took off like a rocket ship in 2019 and I was operating at a million miles an hour in every direction without time to assess or be proud of all I had accomplished. I perservered (somehow-ha!) and now we are on a roll again, this time operating smarter and with a bit more caution.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
That my worth comes from external success. My identity was so wrapped up in my work that I was valuing myself based on my accomplishments. That’s a dangerous way to view yourself. Those that truly love you see your value beyond the external accomplishments- ofcourse they are proud and impressed, but they will love you no matter how big or broad you go. I remember after a spiritual pilgramage to Egypt, I came back and sat at my desk and looked around my giant gallery space and was like “when is it ever going to be enough?” The scale of what I was working on had gotten so large, and I was overseeing and managing so much that I was disconnected from the process of creating that I loved and I really needed to reassess my why. I had to understand that my personal worth did not come from productivity. I am enough.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What light inside you have you been dimming?
To be super vulnerable here: myself as an artist. I’ve recently been taking a painting class for fun, and realize I really need to be creating with my hands and getting in the paint as a means of self expression. Others value and praise my work, and I want to be able to own that side of myself, like I advise many young artists to!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cbcreative.agency, www.clarissabutler.work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbcreative.agency , www.instagram.com/clarissabutler
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarissa-butler-cbcreative/
Image Credits
Hugo Landa Garcia
Shafik Kadi
Brandon Shigeta
