What: Fashion Designer

Natalie Wright is representative of her generation. Frustrated with the sometimes monotonous system that can be school, the 19-year-old asked “why not now” and launched her fashion label, Made in June, in January.

“Since I was 14, my summers have been dedicated to moving me forward in a fashion education,” Wright said.

Since her sophomore year in high school, she spent her summers taking college courses at both Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute. “There was nothing in my high school courses that would teach me anything about fashion.”

Fast forward five years, and Wright’s sportswear collection includes dresses, rompers and separates for women looking for interchangeable pieces. Made in June will be available for purchase later this year, but a lookbook is available online at http://www.made-in-june.com.

Wright is loosely affiliated with the Save Money collective that includes members of the band Kids These Days, along with many young artists, students and beyond. Being surrounded by young creatives helps inspire her work.

“The ideas are ongoing all the time and it’s a lot of feeding off of each other,” said Wright. “It’s the most exciting thing ever, to see people my age doing their thing and think that I can do that too.”

                                                                              Jake Krzeczowksi is a local free-lance writer.

For a while, the cameras were always on Allen Daniels. A star high-school football player at Homewood-Flossmoor, he earned a scholarship to Georgia Tech before transferring to Hampton to

play out the last three years. While at Hampton, he first picked up a camera.

“Photography has always been a passion for me, and it’s really made me a better person and a better man,” he said. “Because you’re capturing a moment in time, a life-changing event, and when you hold it in your hand, you can point to something you’ve done and have a smile on your face.”

Nowadays, Daniel, 23, who never seems to be without a smile, often finds himself on the other side of the device, onstage shooting with local rap group Treated Crew and rapper Rockie Fresh, as well as working with Kendrick Lamar.

“Photography has really opened a lot of doors for me and taught me a lot about myself that I didn’t know,” Daniels said.

For all the doors that have opened in the year since he graduated from college, Daniels isn’t satisfied just yet.

“I want to be considered one of the best photographers of all time,” he said. “I want to be legendary, and I won’t settle for less, so every day I push myself.”

                                                      Jake Krzeczowksi is a locally based free-lance writer. Follow him on Twittter:@jakekrez.

By Jake Krzeczowski

February 19, 2013 4:52PM

Talk to Malcolm London for a moment and his words will resonate.

The 19-year-old poet seems wiser than his years, perhaps part of the reason he has garnered such success.

He wrote his first poem in the aftermath of Derrion Albert’s murder in 2009.

“After [I performed] that poem at a high school, some of the women cried. The mothers told me how powerful my words were,” said London. “For me, it made me realize the impact I can have with my words.”

London wants to make an impact in deeds as well, and does so by working with Chicago youth through Young Chicago Authors, which offers workshops on poetry and writing and does work in CPS schools.

Through work in the community with his involvement in Young Chicago Authors and beyond, London is definitely a young person to keep an eye on.

“Writing about the things that I saw made me want to do something about the things that I saw,” said London. “The ability to get in front of people and talk and get them to think critically, even if it’s only a few minutes, is what I want from my poetry.”