We are Gold.
We are a collective and a collaboration. We are young and old. We are timely and timeless. We are learning and wise. We are funny and serious. We flow between possibility and reality. We are dreamers and doers. We are masculine and feminine. We are Black, and White, and the line that runs between. We are both/and. We are connected at the heart.
We are Gold.
Thomas Gold
Founder & Creator
Thomas founded Hearts of Gold Creative to heal from his personal challenges and to encourage and inspire others to heal. His creative vision established the 3 pillars of this initiative: bring Beauty into the world, provide a platform for Connection, raise Awareness for mental health.
Thomas is the author of Hey Dad, I Don’t Like You, based on real-life difficulties with his Father. His creative pursuits and contributions include writing, composing and playing music, painting, and scripting films.
Alongside creative drive, Adrian brings business acumen to Hearts of Gold Creative. He has a Bachelor’s in Finance and works in public finance as a municipal advisor. As a first-time Founder, Adrian keeps an open and innovative mind, is a dedicated learner, and welcomes collaboration.
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Demitria (Demi) Seva'aetasi
Illustrator
Demi is a cartoonist and illustrator based in the Monterey Bay Area of California. At 14, Demi joined the Monterey Youth Arts Collective (YAC), spending more than a decade developing her artistic ability with the guidance and support of YAC mentors and working artists.
Demi’s talent, dedication, and proximity to working artists created opportunities, and this is how she came to be a contributing artist for Thomas Gold’s illustrated story Hey Dad, I Don’t Like You. This is Demi’s first commission as a book illustrator.
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Mindfully inclusive of all readers, Demi created the artistic style in Hey Dad, I Don’t Like You to represent the soul. She intended her illustrations to be simple, abstract, and to give a surreal feeling to the story, like being in a dream.
Shane & Bonnie Dennehey
Woodcraft Artisans
Partners in life and work for more than two decades, Shane and Bonnie launched Dennehey Designs in 2001 to craft custom wooden decor from inspiring reclaimed wood. These artisans transform old furniture, barns, instruments, and whatnot into unique pieces that tell unique stories and become metaphors for our own lives.
Hearts of Gold Creative connected with the Denneheys for a gold-themed heart-shaped talisman to support the launch of Hey Dad, I Don’t Like You and found kindred spirits. Shane and Bonnie designed and crafted reclaimed wooden hearts incorporating the Japanese practice of kintsugi: mending broken objects with gold-dusted material.
“Like the wood we reclaim, we're all marked by the events of our past,” say the Denneheys. “Yesterday's challenges made us who we are today. Every day, we're being made new, crafted into beautifully imperfect people.”
GoldenLuca Oake
Co-Founder & Creative Partner
Luca is a seasoned strategist and advisor with an MA Anthropology of Media from the University of London, an MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, a PhD in Education from Florida International University, and a 30-year career in media, management, and professional development.
Nurturing the Hearts of Gold vision, mission and message from inception, Luca brings together artists and ideas with potential to cultivate beauty, connection, and awareness for mental health and well-being.
As a gay nonbinary woman of color, Luca is a passionate advocate and coach for people grappling with personal barriers, from overcoming challenges to stepping into personal and creative power. Luca supports all kinds of humans with becoming stronger, brighter versions of themselves.
Sophia Wilson
Illustrator
Sophia came to collaborate with Hearts of Gold Creative as a 14-year-old artist growing up in Carrollton, Texas. Though Hey Dad, I Don’t Like You was her first illustrator commission, the teen was no stranger to art as a profession.
By 2022, Sophia had won several art competitions including the Texas State Fair’s Creative Arts contest, and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit art competition. Sophia’s pieces have been displayed in prominent Texas public spaces such as the Texas State Fair, the Dallas Museum of Art, and Dallas Love Field Airport.
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In Sophia’s own words: “I'm great at reaching my goals, even though I'm short. My teachers caII me by many names: ‘super smart kid' or ‘super funny kid’ or sometimes ‘Hey kid, can you stop talking!’ But I think the best name that describes me is ‘winner.’”
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This Could Be YOU
Work with Hearts of Gold Creative
Got an inspired idea that aligns with our pillars of beauty, connection and awareness for mental health? Reach out! We'd love to connect.