Illustrator Denise Fike will come, fabulously dressed, to your wedding to create the ultimate party favor: ultra-flattering watercolor sketches of your guests done in under five minutes. Starting at $200 per hour.

The Rad Awards are a flagship Philly Tech Week event honoring local women leaders across the gender spectrum who inspire in the fields of technology, media, culture, science, and business. Our nominees were selected from over 300 reader submissions! 

You’ve probably seen her around town – bespectacled Denise Fike, always dressed to impress and peeking out from underneath one of her brimmed hats. Who wears hats anywhere besides the Kentucky Derby? Denise Fike does. And you know what? She does it impeccably. She is Philly’s coolest fashion illustrator who, if you’re lucky, has drawn you at one swanky event or another. We got a peek inside her wonderfully kooky, colorful home, where nothing quite hangs straight and nobody gives a damn. Here, Denise dishes on her style philosophy, the toughest thing to draw, faking your way to the top, and what to do when you find yourself at a NYE party at a gay club wearing the same dress as the man next to you – and he looks better.

Meet Denise Fike

What do you do for a living?
Artist, Illustrator, Designer, Event Fashion Illustrator for the most chic Philadelphia events. Nonna!

"My style inspiration is my mother. She always wore a hat and was a fashion standout. Going shopping in Philadelphia, we called it ‘Town’ and it was an occasion that we longed for. My mom dressed us in hats and gloves and we wandered the shops. She taught me to be an individual, to never care what anyone else thought as long as I knew my mind, not to ‘bend to trend’ and to take chances with fashion. And NEVER leave the house without lipstick!"