March 8th-12th, 2027

THE CURIOUS CREATIVE SUMMIT

The best creative careers are built by people who never stop asking questions.

What happens when you get a bunch of smart, wildly creative people together and start asking them the questions we’re all thinking about? You get five days of honest, funny, thoughtful conversations about creativity, careers, inspiration, experimentation, unexpected detours, big changes—and the things even the most experienced creatives are still figuring out.

We invited some of our favorite creative people from across industries and disciplines to sit down with us for relaxed 30-minute conversations built around one thing: curiosity. No presentations. No perfectly polished TED Talks. Just really interesting people sharing what they’ve learned, what they’re questioning, what keeps them moving forward, and what they’re curious about next. It’s completely free to join, and our hope is that you leave with a few new ideas, a different perspective, and a serious itch to go make something.

Come spend five days with some seriously curious people. See where the conversations take you.

Check out all of our amazing guests below!
*Register now & content will be released each day starting on Monday, March 8th, 2027
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RON MOORE

Ron Moore is a graphic designer, illustrator, typographer, educator and longtime former head of the Design Department at Atlanta’s legendary Creative Circus, where he helped shape generations of designers and creative thinkers. These days, Ron is retired in Florida—but “retired” may be a loose interpretation. He’s still creating, experimenting and following his curiosity wherever it leads, only now he gets to be his own client. That often means digging through years of creative archives, noticing overlooked things worth another look, and turning interesting discoveries into books and other personal projects. After a career spent teaching people how to see possibilities everywhere, Ron is still very much practicing what he preached.
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MARIE-CHANTAL MILETTE

Marie-Chantal Milette wanted to name the colors in paint stores when she grew up. Turns out, she wasn’t too far off. Today, the Montreal-based founder of color agency Kryptonie is one of a small group of experts who have made understanding color their life’s work. A Creative Circus graduate, Marie-Chantal went on to study advanced color psychology with Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone® Color Institute and has brought her expertise to brands including Benjamin Moore, L’Oréal and Formica. She now speaks and teaches internationally about the psychology, strategy and trends behind color—and why the colors we surround ourselves with play a surprisingly powerful role in how we experience the world.
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SYLVIA GAFFNEY

Sylvia Gaffney is one of those teachers whose influence is nearly impossible to measure. An artist, designer, art director and educator, she taught generations of creatives at Atlanta’s legendary Portfolio Center and was one of the founding faculty members of The Creative Circus, where her Intro to Graphic Design class became a rite of passage for aspiring designers. Long before that, Sylvia graduated from college at just 20 and began her career as an illustrator at TVA—so young that her parents had to sign for her to receive her own salary. Her wonderfully varied career has included government illustration, fine art, portraiture, art direction, publication design and decades of teaching. Sylvia retired from the classroom about a decade ago, but not from being creative. A lifelong nature lover, she still approaches every day with the same goal she asked of so many students over the years: to notice more, be grateful and keep creating.
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RICHARD NENOFF

Richard Nenoff is an Atlanta-based graphic designer who has spent more than 15 years making words, images and information play nicely together. A graduate of The Creative Circus, Richard is a Lead Designer at Site Selection Magazine, specializing in publication design, layout and typography. He later returned to The Circus as an instructor, teaching Typography I & II for nearly five years, and now teaches Adobe Primer right here at The Blanket Fort Academy. When he’s not designing or helping other creatives conquer Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, Richard is a lifelong horror fan with a healthy fascination for cryptids and the paranormal. So yes, conversations can wander from typography to Mothman pretty quickly.
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ALEX BURMENKO

Alex Burmenko is an Atlanta-based designer, animator and educator with more than 20 years of experience turning ideas into things that move. His career has crossed graphic design, motion graphics, 3D and animation, giving him the kind of creative toolbox that comes from spending decades learning, experimenting and figuring out new ways to tell a story visually. Alex has worked at Nickelodeon, where he contributed animation and motion design to the brand’s creative work. He is also a longtime educator and a Blanket Fort Academy instructor, where he teaches Animate Your Message: Bold Explainer Storytelling with After Effects—helping creatives move beyond simply learning the software to using motion, pacing and personality– to turn an idea into something people want to watch—and remember.
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RON HUEY

Ron Huey has spent more than 30 years making great ideas happen. His award-winning advertising career has taken him from Los Angeles to Richmond to Atlanta, creating work for brands including Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola, Wrangler, the Atlanta Hawks, Aflac and AT&T. He went on to co-found Huey/Paprocki, which was named one of Creativity’s “Top 20 Agencies to Watch” and collected more than 300 awards along the way. Ron is also the author of the new book Advertisers Anonymous: 12 Steps to Creative Salvation, which turns three decades in the creative trenches into smart, funny and useful lessons about making better work, building a career and knowing when to fight for a really good idea.
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SHAWN GAUTHIER

Shawn Gauthier is a creative director, copywriter and lifelong idea person with more than two decades in advertising. He’s worked at agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann and Publicis and created work for brands like Hilton, Acura, Wonderful Pistachios, POM Wonderful, Folgers and Air Canada along the way. His work has picked up Cannes Lions, Gold Effies and a spot on Adweek’s list of the year’s best commercials. A graduate of Emerson College, where he studied both advertising and creative writing, Shawn still loves the part of the job where strategy, words and a really good idea collide. Perhaps equally important: he is also a two-time winner of the Today Show Halloween Costume Contest. Clearly, this is a man who takes creativity seriously.
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NAKITA POPE

Nakita M. Pope is a brand strategist, designer, educator and self-proclaimed “Chief Chick” who has spent more than 25 years helping people figure out who they are—and how to make sure their brands know it, too. She’s the founder of Branding Chicks, a boutique agency specializing in brand strategy and development for women-owned businesses and femme-focused brands, and spent 13 years teaching branding, design and advertising strategy at The Creative Circus. Nakita has been named one of Graphic Design USA’s People to Watch, honored as an AIGA Atlanta Fellow, and shares her expertise on stages and in classrooms around the country. She now calls Jacksonville, Florida home. And because every good bio needs one completely unexpected detail: Nakita once sang backup for an Elvis cover band.
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NEISHA TWEED-BELL

Neisha Tweed-Bell is an Atlanta-based executive creative director, strategist and educator who believes creative direction is much bigger than making great ads. Over 20+ years, she’s worked across advertising and tech at places including Ogilvy, Publicis and Meta, shaping work for more than 100 brands and building creative teams, systems and practices along the way. Today, through her consultancy Undeniable Ideas, Neisha helps creatives and organizations turn good ideas into ones that are much harder to ignore. She’s also become a leading voice in helping creatives creative direct AI—bringing the strategy, taste, judgment and craft to the process that a prompt alone can’t provide. At the center of all of it is Neisha’s belief that as the tools keep changing, strong creative thinking matters more than ever.
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GENTRY AKENS

Gentry Akens is an award-winning entertainment designer and creative director whose career is a pretty wonderful argument against staying in one creative lane. For more than 35 years, he has moved between animation, toy design, theme parks, television, feature films, theater and live entertainment, working with names including Hanna-Barbera, Disney, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon, Hasbro and Mattel. He began his career designing characters and layouts for animated shows including Fat Albert and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and went on to design everything from theme-park experiences to movie sets. Gentry is also a Blanket Fort Academy instructor and a firm believer that the skills you build in one creative world can open doors to another you may never have considered.
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JEFFREY ZWARTJES

Jeffrey Zwartjes is an Atlanta-based puppeteer, illustrator, designer, actor, puppet builder and educator—which should give you some idea of how difficult it is to put Jeffrey into one creative box. A graduate of SCAD, he has spent more than two decades bringing characters and stories to life through puppetry, illustration, theater and design, with a long history of performing, creating and teaching at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts. Most recently, Jeffrey debuted his one-man puppet show, Wildly Beloved: Tales from the Rainbow Bridge, to sold-out audiences at the Atlanta Fringe Festival. His work moves easily between designing, performing, teaching and making wonderfully strange things—and is proof that sometimes the most interesting creative career is the one that refuses to pick just one thing.
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KEVIN MOWRER

Kevin Mowrer is a creator, writer, artist, designer, inventor and storyteller whose 30+ year career has helped shape some of the biggest worlds in entertainment. As SVP of worldwide R&D at Hasbro, Kevin founded its Fantasy Factory and helped reimagine and expand iconic properties including Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and Tonka. His work has crossed toys, television, film, games, publishing and everything in between, with creative collaborations involving Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Universal and Paramount. He’s a two-time Emmy winner, a Gemini Award winner and the holder of multiple patents—and after decades spent building stories and worlds in nearly every other form imaginable, Kevin has recently added novelist to the list. At the heart of all of it is a lifelong fascination with how stories work, why we need them, and just how big an idea can become when we stay curious about where else it might go.
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COLLEEN FINN

Colleen Finn is a designer, illustrator, educator, creative coach and retired architect whose career has taken more than a few interesting turns. She taught design at Atlanta’s The Creative Circus for over a decade and served as co-chair of the Design Department for a good chunk of that time, helping hundreds of emerging creatives find their voices and build careers of their own. She later founded The Moody Tiger, a life-coaching practice, helping creative people figure out what they’re capable of, and today she’s the founder of The Blanket Fort Academy, a creative school for adults built around curiosity, serious learning and the idea that we should never really graduate from making, exploring and trying new things. She’s also your host for the Curious Creative Summit—which gives her an excellent excuse to gather some of her favorite creative minds, ask them a whole bunch of questions, and see where the conversation goes.
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Cool stuff happens in a Blanket Fort

What if you had a place where curiosity was encouraged, not questioned—where pushing your ideas was expected, supported, and taken seriously—even for just a few hours a week?

Built by someone who has navigated these same pressures, The Blanket Fort Academy is grounded in a simple belief: Hard work and joy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, when creative learning is designed with intention, joy becomes the key ingredient to keep you moving toward your potential.

You don’t need more passive videos or endless subscriptions. You need engagement, feedback, structure, and momentum. We offer live, 12-week, online courses designed to help creatives actively practice, stretch, and strengthen their craft. In the Academy, you will step away from learning in isolation, work alongside other committed creatives, and take creative risks in a low-stakes, high-support environment.

We keep our class sizes small to ensure personal attention and live feedback. Expectations are clear. The work is demanding. Support is built in. This is what learning looks like when experience at the highest level leads the way.

A Safe Place for Unlimited Creativity

  • Learn Without the Loan

    College-level creative classes, live and online — without the debt. Take just the courses you want, when you want, and build the creative career (and life) you want to live.

  • Skills You'll Actually Use

    Every class adds new skills to your toolbox and resume. From freelance gigs to passion-fueled side hustles, you’ll walk away with marketable skills that fuel your creative fire.

  • Creativity Meets Joy

    Reignite the spark that got you into this field in the first place. Expect laughter, breakthroughs, and a community that offers support and networking opportunities.

Who is The Blanket Fort for?

  • Curious beginners and career-explorers who want a strong foundation before committing to a creative path

  • Creatives who are tired of playing it safe and want to reconnect with curiosity, experimentation, and momentum

  • High level career Creatives looking to find their way back to the joy that came from judgement-free creativity (...before it was tied to a paycheck)

Q3 COURSES 2026

June 30, 2026 - September 19th, 2026

Why us? Why now?

I think we can all relate to the idea that the status quo is no longer working. As creatives, we are lifelong learners—but we don’t have the time or money for another 2–4 year program. We deserve more than sitting and watching endless tutorials. We want education that expands our skills, taught by instructors who are at the top of their game.

The Blanket Fort Academy was built from the ground up to break the mold of creative education and serve the students, not institutional overhead. Our founder is a lifelong creative who has been waiting for the opportunity to do things in a new way. This is just the beginning.

Our à la carte format lets you choose exactly what you want to explore—whether you’re rebuilding confidence, expanding your skill set, or reconnecting with the part of you that actually enjoys making things.

This is about momentum.
About curiosity.
About rebuilding trust in your own creative instincts.
This is about investing in yourself and your creative future.

Because when creatives are given space to experiment — without fear, but with structure — possibility opens up fast.

Come on in!

Join the Blanket Fort to get a bunch of cool creative stuff and first dibs on upcoming courses!

Thank You