A Love Letter to the Multi-Hyphenate Creative

For a long time, I thought something was wrong with me.

I wasn’t just a painter. Or a designer. Or a curator. Or a founder. I was all of them — and none of them fit the whole picture. I’d find myself in one room, feeling like I had to leave part of myself at the door. It felt fragmented, like I was too much — or not enough of one thing.

Then I discovered there was a name for this. A way of life, even. It’s called being a multi-hyphenate.

What is a Multi-Hyphenate?

It’s not just a fancy title. It’s a creative philosophy. A multi-hyphenate is someone who refuses to choose one lane when they were born to build intersections. We blend disciplines, wear many hats, and build careers out of our curiosities. We are the slash generation: painter-slash-curator-slash-creative director. We thrive at the edges — not in the center of a box.

In her book The Multi-Hyphen Life, Emma Gannon defines it as “a consciously chosen portfolio career made up of multiple streams of income, identities, and interests.” Think Pharrell. Think Virgil. Think Mickalene Thomas. Think… maybe, you?

Because chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re already living it — even if you didn’t have the words.

Why Being Multi-Hyphenate Matters

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about being more you. In a world that keeps asking us to simplify ourselves into a single title, the multi-hyphenate path is radical in its wholeness. It says: I am allowed to be a constellation of talents, not just a single star.

And in practical terms? It’s future-proof. The economy is shifting. Creative industries are evolving. When you have multiple skill sets, you’re more adaptable, more resilient, and more creatively alive. You’re not waiting for permission — you’re making your own map.

My Multi-Hyphen Method

Over time, I’ve stopped seeing my creative life as a ladder and started seeing it as a landscape. A topography of offerings, expressions, and experiments. Here’s what helps me thrive as a multi-hyphenate:

• Start with your values, not your job titles.
  Let why you do things lead what you do.
  

• Give your creativity containers.
  I build brands and platforms to house my ideas — Goodtype, Saint Bode, Analog Futures, Saint Bodega, Out Of Form. Each one holds a facet of me.
  

• Honor the quiet seasons.
  Rest is part of the method. So is saying no.
  

• Curate your chaos.
  The beauty is in how you weave the threads, not in how many you collect.
  
  

A Note to the Ones Who Don’t Fit the Mold

If you’ve ever felt like you’re too much — maybe you’re just multidimensional. If you’ve ever been told to “just pick one thing” — maybe that thing is your own ecosystem.

Being a multi-hyphenate is not a trend. It’s a reclamation. It’s choosing to be all of yourself — unapologetically, creatively, and on purpose.

Welcome to the shelf you built.