The coordinated effort between Creative State and Family Reunion finally came into fruition this past Saturday on February 23rd. Presented as “Dojo Marketplace” the event promised a culmination of live music, yoga, clothes, food, and more at The Dojo Cafe.

I had very recently become a part of Creative State and was excited to see all of the hardworking efforts and displays of arts these individuals were going to share at Dojo Marketplace. Arriving to the event shortly after noon, I was automatically greeted with positive spirits and artistic pop-up shops on every corner. Nearly every person that I looked at wore the combination of a smile and a unique outfit.  

 I joined a few of my friends, Bryan and Evan, who I had planned to meet, then came across a group of people wearing shirts with different shades of purple and gray as the live DJ filled the event with music. I began talking to the man at the table, Ernesto, who told me their collective of clothing was known as “aRT Brand Co.”. He explained to me that the team consistently commutes around all of Southern California including Los Angeles, San Marcos, and San Diego. My friends and I entered our names into their raffle for a free shirt, then continued on.  

Enjoying the Dojo Marketplace

As we enjoyed the abundance of happy dogs and good sunlight, I started to wonder how such a eccentric event came to be. It had to start somewhere right?  

That’s when I asked Nick Mora, one of the founders of Creative State, how it all started.  

He explained to me that he and co-founder, Khayri Carter, were sitting on a friend’s couch in Winter 2017 when they began to form the concept that is now officially Creative State. With a lack of any sort of platform for creatives and artists to share their work at San Diego State University, the idea seemed like a gold mine. Now, over a year later, it is really interesting to see just how necessary a group with this mission was. 

Little did I know, I would actually come across Khayri and his own clothing company “Garde” during my next stop at Dojo Marketplace. Bryan, Evan and I caught the design of the clothes by the corner of our eyes and were immediately intrigued. After chatting with Khayri for a while about the long journey his personal designs have come, Bryan and I happily purchased one shirt each and were featured on the official @staygarded Instagram story.  

Nick Mora's Garde shirts at Dojo Marketplace
Garde Shirts

From what I gathered, the yoga sessions were fairly easy, offered as an introduction for beginners. The yoga practice area was very aesthetically pleasing too, so I definitely took advantage of this by aiming the lens of my Sony a6000 and clicking the button on top repeatedly. 

A few art display boards were set up in the middle of the marketplace, with the correlating artists hanging out next to their pieces. We put on our best art analysis hats and began to check out the optical illusions of colors and nude paintings that hung on the display boards. My friend Bryan really seemed to like the nude paintings. Although I personally know little of any drawing, painting or art theory, it was satisfying to see these artists tangible and hard-work being showcased.  

Yoga and Fun

As I took the last of my pictures and felt my skin begin to burn from the high ultraviolet index, we decided to call it a day.  

This is neither the first or last Creative State event, in fact. Dojo Marketplace was the first event of theirs I have attended in my 18 months at San Diego State, and it has certainly got me hyped for the rest to come. 

I feel like a lot of individuals at our college have great ideas and art, but lack an outlet to share it on. Feel free to contact Creative State to meet some similarly-minded people!  

“We host these events to challenge ourselves to test our creative limits and to inspire others to do the same, and I can’t wait to show everyone what we have in store for the SDSU creative community!” stated Nick Mora happily, regarding the future of the collective.  

Creative State x Family Reunion at Dojo Marketplace
Creative State x Family Reunion

Follow the Creative State account to stay posted on the awesome events coming up for the rest of the Spring ‘19 semester. I can guarantee that you will meet a person or find a brand at the events that will make you feel creatively inspired and happy.  

Written by: Justin Neely