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Tisha Spencer is a phoenix: Adapting and changing to make her dream of a career in the arts happen.
Spark b y M o l ly W r i g h t
Tisha Spencer, President of Firehouse Design developed a passion for art at a young age. By high school she was determined to pursue a career in an art-related field, yet, she no idea how to accomplish this dream. Before long, she was spending long hours doing research in the library and she even got a part-time job working in a sign-making shop to get more real world experience. But it was the summer following her high school graduation that this Jefferson City native began to see her dream become a reality, when a local ad agency that had just lost their graphic designer offered her a job. “I had heard of graphic artists, but I had never met one,” says Spencer, who at the time couldn’t believe her good luck. For the next two years, she juggled meeting deadlines with a heavy class schedule at Westminster College. “I was working a good 30 hours while going to college full time,” she says. “It was stressful trying to balance all of that at 20 years old.” Perseverance paid off when
she received her Bachelor of Fine Art at Westminster College through a joint art program with William Woods University. Immediately afterward, Spencer launched Firehouse Design with little more than a single computer and printer. “I had no experience, and a lot of my clients were 40 to 45-year-old men who did not take me seriously. Although some of that was justified,” she admits. “But it took me a long time to get past being called ‘kiddo.’” That was 18 years ago. Since then, Firehouse Design, named after Spencer’s husband Scott, who works for the Jefferson City Fire Department, has grown considerably. “Most of what we are doing today is more advanced print design and layout,” says Spencer who adds they offer web design as well. “Eighteen years ago when the Internet was new, I would have never envisioned that someday nearly half of our work would be web design.” For some clients they additionally develop ad campaigns, purchase media, and oversee production of radio and television spots.
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