Arie Gatewood and Damon Taziyah, co-owners and founders of The Artistry Group, are Indy natives and Herron School of Art graduates. Located at 652 East 52nd Street, The Artistry Group or TAG, is a creative agency with local, national and international clients. Managing Director Melvin Graham, also Indy raised, has been a marketing consultant and entrepreneur in the creative domain for years. Arie and Damon recently discussed their agency and creative background.

"We initially started in 2015 on Mass Ave as a consignment shop for local creatives. We kind of tapped into all of our experiences at Herron School of Art. Our Mom also went to Herron. It's always been a part of what we do. She migrated to Indianapolis from Mississippi, got a factory job at General Motors and lived in the Lockefield Gardens area. Our family later moved and we went to IPS # 70. I went to Broad Ripple High School and studied in their Art Magnet program before transferring to Franklin Central High School. It's nice to come back to this area and contribute to it," he mentioned.

"Our Marketing Director, Alison Banks, is also the owner of Artistry Social, our event planning & "experience" service group. She grew up in the Tarkington Park area. I'm impressed with the amount of creatives coming out of Indy that are forging fashion, design and bringing creativity to the city," Damon said.

"I graduated in 2005 from Herron, where I met and my future wife. We actually got married at Herron. She completed her art and education degree there. I started working in Atlanta, where my clients were Home Depot and Vonage. There were a lot of entertainment acts we had, like Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun where we handled their digital accounts at Warner Digital Music from 2005 to 2012. I eventually moved back to Indianapolis where I'm originally from. Arie also completed her design degree at Herron and we merged companies with our current manager, Mel Graham, who is the managing partner of Black Box Creative. After Arie graduated from Herron (School of Art), we decided on a family business and called it the Artistry Group," Damon explained.

Arie said, "I studied visual communications at Ivy Tech, and design before that. I was always good at art and taken back at the response I got from others. They would tell me it was 'amazing.' I was good at being creative and that is what sparked my interest. When I got my first computer, I got into digital design while going to Ivy Tech for visual communications and then transferred to the Herron School of Art where I graduated in 2015. My first experience was working at The Khemper Institute, where they believe in community empowering self-mastery, and also at KI New Media. Working at these companies simultaneously was my first experience in being a creative for hire. I also did work for Black Box that was founded as social entertainment company. Khmer Institute also helps young creatives utilize social entertainment. It was part of their Aquaponics Company. I was in their mentorship program in high school as well."

Creativity runs in Arie and Damon's family. "My grandmother had a floral shop at 46th and Evanston called Peddle Wood. She is retired, but is still organizing floral designs for church events. When we were growing up, we would help her stitch flowers," he recalled.

"Our mother created her company's logo and also graduated from Herron. She took a floral design course at night while she had a full time job at the GM plant at the time I was born. She stamped metal doors for GM and picked up an extra floral design class as a way to help pay her way through college. My Mom became a design and city planner for the City of Indianapolis. One of the projects she worked on was the expansion of White River Canal expanding west and the White River Park branding project. As kids, we went there on Saturdays on the 18th floor overlooking the city where we discovered Adobe Photoshop," he recalled.

As Arie and Damon drew on draft paper with pens and markers, they would get lost in the paper and designs they were creating, which would create the backdrop for their careers.

Damon mentioned a mentor of his while growing up. "I.M. Hoype showed me how to program, develop and build an e-commerce site in high school. He is a co-founder of the Khemper Institute."

He has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and an affinity for technology. "When I was a teenager, I had a t-shirt company called De/Man, when I was 15 years old at Franklin Central in the mid-1990s. I started using their technology mixing tapes for a local rapper and DJ on 38th and was inspired by Hip Hop music, like Pin and Pixel, a New Orleans outfit and DL Warfield, a designer who created outrageous album covers. My way to contribute to the culture is through design. Before that, when I was grade school, I would draw pictures of Ninja Turtles and Charlie Brown in addition to drawing caricatures."

Artistry Group offers clients Integrated Campaigns, Content, Brand Strategies, Design Studio, Digital Development. "Basically, we are a full service creative agency. We are about 10 strong and we work with creative freelancers from Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. Some of our biggest clients are on the east coast, but we also have clients overseas, like Loacker (Italy). Locally, we have worked with many clients including Pop Weaver and Eskenazi Health. Most agencies farm out their creative work, but we follow our strategies in design and creativity. We are between a traditional ad agency and production studio, which is located is the back of the shop with stage props and designs. We like to partner with other local creatives, venues and agencies including Helen Wells, Jay Goldz, The Speakeasy, Smash Social, Keondra Atwater, L Mondelez and the Neidhammer. We also do print and digital advertising including stop motion and live action content creation. In 2011, we worked with Black Box and helped Cummins Engine build their first mobile app. We tend to keep our heads down and remain productive," Damon emphasized.

Artistry Pictures is their full-length production division led by short film creator, Jeremy Wallace, aka #directedbyJace. "We are integrating Jace's talent into TAG and expanding our footprint. We want to reach markets like Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles," Damon noted.

On February 15, TAG revealed one of their first internal projects with a viewing party for the Oh Yeah Yeah Yeah and I Admit videos. I Admit is a song written by local musician Diop that features up-and-coming artists Allison Victoria, Baby Ebony and Willis. The video was filmed at local spots including LUNA Music. This community-focused project took the efforts of Artistry Pictures, Artistry Social and Artistry Goods, a merchandise line created by Arie featured in the video.

"It's a lifestyle brand that I created. We express ourselves through various projects and gain from learning with our clients. TAG branded t-shirts are available for sale online. We are involved in marketing and merchandising. It's a natural extension of our creative work. We don't just rely on each other, but on our merits of creative means to it. With our credo of Culture Craft Code, with Culture, we ask, 'Are we giving back to the culture back in a positive way? Are we doing our best work in bringing commence to the culture as craft?" Arie asked.

Their location has a inventive history behind it. Arie and Damon attended some PrintText events (formerly located at 652 E. 52nd) and worked with them on some projects to keep that creative energy in this area. More information about is available at: www.theartistrygroup.com or by calling (844) 602-4778.

Damon reflected on the rewards of his work, "I just turned 40 and noticed how my children, who range from 2 to 12 years, have an interest in creating things like I did in my youth in the middle of the Bible Belt in Indiana. We are trying to bring out these talents that go unnoticed and we want to empower them to be leaders for the next generation. I see that through my kids. My son is 12 and he's editing software."

"I see so much growth in our team, which is inspiring. Teagan Vonderheit, a recent IUPUI graduate has really stepped up. She originally came on board as an intern and over the past year has transitioned into a major part of TAG. Currently she serves as our Client Services Director. Krystina Lott, the newest TAG member is growing into her own as Design and Content Producer. Another inspiration of mine is my favorite book, The Alchemist," he added.

Arie noted, "The most rewarding thing is balancing our work and dictating our own course and path."

Arie Gatewood, Damon Taziyah and their creative staff combine Craft Culture and Code at The Artistry Group at their Broad Ripple area location.