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Dele Nguyen

@delenguyen

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Vision-led. Impact-driven.
Social design thought leader.
Founder @nguyenncreative
Co-founder @thecreativeuniondet

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Working for yourself doesn’t mean you have to build alone!

Some of the best ideas, collaborations, and opportunities start with a simple conversation.

At The Creative Union, we believe coworking is about more than sharing a workspace. It’s about surrounding yourself with people who understand your journey, challenge your ideas, and help you grow.

Because community is creative infrastructure. 🤎

#TheCreativeUnion #DetroitCreatives #CreativeCommunity #DetroitCoworking #CreativeEntrepreneurs taken in Chroma Detroit by @delenguyen

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3 days ago

I always seem to miss Black Tech Saturdays because weekends are usually booked with clients, so I love when work brings me there anyway.

Spent a couple hours capturing my client, then got to sit in on a conversation around Art and Black Wealth Building. Super insightful and definitely has me thinking about best practices when it comes to supporting our local artists🎨 and art collecting💃🏻 taken in Newlab by @delenguyen

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21 days ago

Couldn’t resist an invitation for matcha from @cafecitoalvarez and a little retail therapy at @thelipbar with the one and only @michelljasmin__ 😘 by @delenguyen

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24 days ago

EP. 3 // FUCK AROUND + FIND A FIT

Even though my Curve bag is my everyday bag, I might have to switch her out because the smaller green bag is definitely the move.

Love me a bag. Love me a green bag even more. Love me a crossbody the MOST.

I got a lot of patterns going on, which is definitely outside of my comfort zone, but idk… it’s doing something to me. by @delenguyen

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a month ago

EMAD🌚

#easternmarketafterdark #detroitmonthofdesign taken in Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan by @delenguyen

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a month ago

EP. 2 // FUCK AROUND + FIND A FIT

I’ve heard people call this shade of green a million different things, but whatever you call it, just know it’s my favorite color.

It complements my other two favorite colors, black and brown, very well. Gives me a little pop of color without doing too much. It’s about as whimsical as I get lol.

If you see anything worth purchasing in this color, shoot it to me in a DM please.

#chartreuse by @delenguyen

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a month ago

Building creative infrastructure takes a lot more than building a space.

Behind The Creative Union are countless hours spent creating content, curating programming, building partnerships, applying for grants, networking and advocating for Detroit’s creative community.

The buildout will give the work a home. But the work to strengthen Detroit’s creative economy is already happening.

#DetroitCreatives #CreativeEconomy #CreativeInfrastructure #DetroitCreativeCommunity #TheCreativeUnion taken in Chroma Detroit by @delenguyen

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a month ago

EP. 1 // FUCK AROUND + FIND A FIT

I’ve never considered myself fashionable or really had the confidence to dress my body type. I also change aesthetics every five business days, so there’s that.

Anyway, join me for Fuck Around + Find a Fit, where I style myself, experiment, vibe, step outside my comfort zone and possibly even wear the shit outside lol🤭 by @delenguyen

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a month ago

Meet the people behind the thing👋🏼

The Creative Union wasn’t built by five people with the same skill set, background or way of thinking. That’s kind of the point.

Between us, there are decades of experience across music, media, entrepreneurship, photography, marketing, operations, government, community building and Detroit’s creative economy. We’ve each experienced different sides of what it means to build a creative career, including the gaps that make it harder than it needs to be.

So we brought our brains, networks, experience and a slightly unreasonable amount of ideas to the same table.

Different strengths. One shared vision: build better infrastructure, access and opportunities for Detroit creatives.

Meet the cofounders of The Creative Union🤝
@agbfoh
@detroitdas
@marc_mill
@delenguyen
@adriantonon

📸 @agbfoh @hasin_jpg taken in Chroma Detroit by @delenguyen

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a month ago

The Creative Union is more than an organization. It’s a movement for the creative economy, built by creatives who understand firsthand why stronger creative infrastructure matters.

A lot of the challenges we’re working to solve today are the same ones we faced ten years ago. We learned through trial and error. We figured things out without a roadmap. We built careers, found our people, created our own opportunities and learned where the gaps were because we lived them.

Now, we get to come back together and help close those gaps for the creatives coming behind us.

That’s what makes this feel so full circle.

Where we started versus where we are now is a testament to every creative who has poured their time, ideas, relationships and energy into building this foundation. People who believe community isn’t just something you find. It’s something you intentionally build and protect.

Because when creatives have access to each other, resources, opportunities and spaces where they belong, the entire creative economy gets stronger.

There’s something powerful about using what you’ve learned to make the path a little clearer for someone else.

To build the community you once needed.

To contribute to something bigger than yourself.

That’s The Creative Union.

📸 @completdstudios

Shoutout to @crowdfreak @weareculturecreators @sickemrecords @nguyenncreative @madeinbanglatown313 @abapdetroit @menace.media by @delenguyen

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a month ago

A milestone worth celebrating. 🥂 We’re honored to be recipients of @motorcitymatch funding and even more excited for what comes next.

The buildout begins. Stay tuned. 👀 taken in Detroit, Michigan by @delenguyen

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2 months ago

8.25.1997 marks my Gotcha Day.

I’ve never really acknowledged my Gotcha Day until this year. But this year, I needed something positive to hold onto.

This has been a really heavy season of grief for me. I recently lost someone who was a father figure to me, and this month also holds the death anniversaries of a handful of people who were incredibly dear to me. It’s been a lot.

But my Gotcha Day reminds me that even in seasons of loss, there can still be something worth celebrating.

29 years ago, I was adopted, flown to Michigan and started a completely new life.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized just how much that one moment shaped everything that came after it. Had I not been adopted, or had I been adopted by a different family, my life could look completely different.

Instead, I got this life.

My family. My friends. The people I’ve met. The things I’ve built. The person I’ve become. And hopefully, a whole lot more life still ahead of me.

I’ve experienced a lot of loss, but I’ve also gained so much. And today feels like a good day to remember that.

So in a season filled with endings, I’m choosing to celebrate a beginning.

Cheers to my Gotcha Day, 29 years of this life, and whatever comes next🙏🏼 by @delenguyen

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2 months ago