Inspiring Paths with April Speight
We are highlighting April Speight, the founder of Vogue & Code. April began her career as a menswear stylist and visual merchandiser for brands such as Club Monaco, Saks, and Neiman Marcus. She holds a BS in Global Business & Public Policy from the University of Maryland and transitioned into tech, serving as a project manager for companies like Lidl US, Impexium, and The Milken Institute.
After earning a Masters in Luxury & Fashion Management from Savannah College of Art and Design, she shifted her focus to tech, learning Python and later specializing in AI assistants and chatbots. Her work in conversational design was recognized at Twilio’s SIGNAL conference, where she received the Twilio Doer award in 2019.
Inspired by a Microsoft event demo, April delved into Extended Reality (XR) and joined Microsoft as a Sr. Cloud Advocate for Spatial Computing in 2020. She co-created the award-winning app Spell Bound at MIT Reality Hack and became a thought leader in XR safety and inclusivity.
At Microsoft, she contributed to various XR projects and won a Silver Telly Award for Remote Production. April also hosted the 2022 Mixed Reality Dev Days and collaborated with the Microsoft Mesh team. She has authored two Python books and partnered with brands like Warner Bros., Pluralsight, and Codecademy.
Currently, April resides in Los Angeles as a Principal Cloud Advocate at Microsoft, focusing on Generative AI. Join us as we dive into the inspiring journey of April in this installment of In the Crossroads: Inspiring Paths Series!
How do you balance your career with your creative passions?/How do you find time for creativity in your busy schedule?
Lately I’ve found it’s best to save my creative passions for the weekend. I used to work on my creative endeavors during the weekday after work. However, I realized that I was reaching a point of burnout and needed to have time to myself after work to rest and disconnect. Ever since making the change, I feel well rested when the weekend arrives and I’m better to mentally focus on my creative pursuits. It’s been a worthwhile change!
What are some creative outlets you've explored outside of work?
As of late, I recently got into needlepoint and naturally I’ve been transfixed on all things needlepoint. I’ve also done painting with watercolor, making shoes, sewing, book binding, candle making, fragrance blending, 3D modeling, pottery, sewing Barbie clothes, paper crafts with my Circuit, and illustrating in Procreate.
Have you ever turned a creative hobby into a side hustle or business? Share your experience!
I turned fragrance blending and candle making into a business. It was a lot of work getting to the point where I could actually sell the candle since I wasn’t using premade fragrance oils. Since I was using custom blends, I had to do a lot of research and trial and error to ensure that my candles were safe. Not to mention, the process of finding the “perfect” blend doesn’t necessarily have a timetable. There’s so many scents in the world and it takes a lot of patience to try combination after combination. In the end, I did well with my inaugural launch. However, I quickly learned that I needed to provide more cushion for my vessels during transport. Some of them cracked. I’ve since resolved that issue and I can’t wait to release my next collection this Fall.
What advice do you have for people who are looking to start a new creative project or hobby?
When it comes to supplies, start with the least amount of supplies needed. It can be easy to think that you need every supply possible just to get started. However, in most cases you can get by with fewer supplies and often the less expensive version of the required supplies.
How has pursuing creative outlets impacted your mental health and well-being?
I’m happiest when I create.
Have you faced any challenges or setbacks in your creative journey? How did you overcome them?
I have a lot of creative hobbies and will likely pick up more. Getting started is always the most challenging part of the process. Sometimes I immediately want to quit if I’m not perfect the first time around. And honestly, sometimes I do quit because I’m human. But that’s how I weave out which creative hobbies I truly want to keep. If it’s something that I actually want to pursue, I push through the challenges.
What role does creativity play in your personal and professional development?
A lot of the skills I've learned over the years in graphic design and video editing is leveraged often in my professional life. It actually puts me at an advantage because I don’t have to rely on anyone else to produce the graphics I need or edit the videos I want to publish. I can do it all myself and get much more completed that way. Not all of my colleagues have this advantage.
How do you stay motivated and inspired to continue pursuing your creative passions?
I can’t imagine life without pursuing my creative passions. I feel that if I didn’t pursue my creative passions, life would be pretty dull - and who wants a dull life?
What resources or tools do you recommend for women seeking to explore their creativity?
Youtube is literally a gold mine of learning how to try new things. Sure, you could purchase courses and I honestly feel that those have their place. I’ve certainly purchased my fair share. However, YouTube is genuinely one of the better resources for just getting started with a new creative pursuit. Once you start getting the hang of things, then I’d suggest finding online (or in-person) courses to purchase/enroll.
