Episode 16 | DL WARFIELD

The Atlanta Story

The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with DL Warfield, Founder of Goldfinger Creative.

DL is a critically acclaimed creative designer and artist. After earning his degree in Painting from Washington University, he started his early career for Edison Brothers Stores as an intern and worked his way up to Product Developer and designer. Tommy Boy Records loved his work and he soon wore the role of Head Designer for their clothing line. From Tommy Boy Records he evolved from New York to Atlanta as the Art Director of L.A. Reid’s, La Face Records. While there he collaborated with some of his favorite artists including Usher, TLC, Outkast, and Pink. Since 2001, DL has run his own firm Goldfinger Creative and makes art. In this episode we talk about how to get creative, what lessons he learned in the music industry, and how to stay focused on the craft.

The Atlanta Story is put together by the folks at Atlanta Ventures -- and we can’t wait to share some of the personalities behind the brand. Atlanta Ventures invests in entrepreneurs through community, content, and capital -- most notably through our Studio with companies like Greenzie and Intown Golf Club. We believe the best entrepreneurs learn from other great artists in different fields.

In this episode, we discuss…

1. You’ve shared that going to Tommy Boy Records was the most important career decision in your life. Elaborate.” (02:51)
2. “When businesses tell employees “stay in your lane” how does one expand that lane?” (05:07)
3. “Did Tommy Boy Records find you or did you find them?” (06:24)
4. “At what stage did you join Tommy Boy Records?” (08:24)
5. “What’s step one of creating a clothing line?” (10:08)
6. “How does one provide the depth and story lines today of a brand in the transaction ecommerce world? (12:15)
7. “What were the biggest lessons learned while at Tommy Boy?” (13:48)
8. “How did you and LaFace Records get connected?” (16:01)
9. “You move from New York to Atlanta. Tell us about that experience?” (20:20)
10. “What does a young Creative Director at a legendary record label do to start out?” (21:32)
11. Talk to us about some of your first projects. (24:32)
12. “What was the culture of LaFace?” 25:45
13. “Walk us through how you created the album cover for Outkast’s iconic ATLiens?” (28:02)
14. After all the hard work is complete and the entire creative package is done, how do y’all celebrate? (30:40)
15. What’s Andre 3000 up to? (32:01)
16. Share more about how you approached TLC’s FanMail album. (34:35)
17. “How did you go about getting your first paying customers on the Goldfinger Creative front?” (37:21)
18. “What’s your advice to creatives who want to take the leap full time?” (40:42)
19. How do prioritize your day as an artist vs. the entrepreneur? (42:45)
20. How do you maintain your desire to succeed? (49:35)
21. How do you become a good father? (52:01)
22. How do people find more about your art work? (54:07)
23. Why Atlanta and what has Atlanta done for you? (56:10)

Resources discussed in this episode:

Napoleon Hill: Think and Grow Rich

How you can get involved:

Visit atlantaventures.com/studio if you’re interested in learning more about Atlanta Ventures and the Studio.

Where you can find us:

Website: www.atlstory.com

Twitter: @theatlantastory

Instagram: @theatlantastory

YouTube: Here

Subscribe to the newsletter here.