We were lucky to catch up with Katie Prill recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
When I transitioned from being a Registered Nurse to an artist and a maker, I had moments where I felt like I was being misunderstood. The pivot in my career was brought about my family’s military affiliation and the necessity to adapt to a recent cross-country move during COVID times. There were so many unknowns when we moved from Alabama to South Dakota. At that moment, we made the best decision we could for our family, and that meant I was going to hang up my scrubs and stethoscope for a while to stay home with my kids and homeschool them. During that time, I took the leap of faith to start my small business. I’ve often questioned whether my work as an artist and maker carries the same importance or impact as my work as a nurse. I truly believe both roles involve meaningful contributions to society in different ways. When I started sharing my art, I often shared bible verses or quotes to inspire and give a sense of hope. I’ve since ventured out from just the motivational content to also including some humorous and snarky art pieces. I think both are needed in the world. Some days you need all the help you can get to motivate you to get up out of bed, and other days you need something to laugh at so you don’t cry.
While nursing focused on physical health and caregiving for me, creating art offers emotional and cultural enrichment and helps foster creativity. There is value in my role as an artist and maker too.
Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a Registered Nurse turned passionate entrepreneur who found my way back to my creative side while we were stationed in Alabama. I’m an Air Force spouse of 16 years, and I’ve been stationed all over the United States. Besides that, I’m also a mom of 2 boys and a dog mom.
When we were stationed in Alabama, I saw an advertisement for a hand lettering course in our town. I signed up for it, and every month I received a curated box of art supplies and access to an online community with tutorials. I fell in love with hand lettering and watercolors. I feel like I always had “good” hand writing, but this was a step up! Less than 6 months later, Covid hit, and I was laid off from my RN job along with my kids shifting to virtual school. We found ourselves at home together around the clock for the first time. I used that time at home to work daily on my lettering as well as also playing around with watercolors. We went through so much chalk those first 2-3 months into COVID. I think I lettered and doodled on every usable space indoors and out!
After a little while, we ended up moving from Alabama to South Dakota for my spouse’s military career, and I pivoted with my nursing career. I hung up the stethoscope and scrubs to continue to stay home with my kids, and I started to homeschool them that year for the first time. While I was at home, I took that opportunity to start my business. I had recently purchased an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil 2, and with that, I took a lot of my designs digital. I had been posting a lot of my art online on my instagram account and mailing pieces to friends and family, and they encouraged me to start selling my work. I had my designs made into stickers and prints, and I opened my Spouse-ly shop in September of 2020.
For those that don’t know, Spouse-ly is an online marketplace where military, veterans, first responders, and their families can sell products and services. Anyone can shop on Spouse-ly, but all of the vendors have a service connection. I loved the idea of being a part of a platform where all of the vendors understood the unique lifestyle of a military family with the frequent moves and instability of military life. I have only sold my products on Spouse-ly, and in the process, I’ve found a community of amazing entrepreneurs who lift one another up and value community over competition. I’m so proud to be a vendor on Spouse-ly.
When I first started selling on Spouse-ly, I focused mainly on stickers and hand lettered prints, but then I started selling wood signs, door hangers, and ornaments. My brand has evolved over the past 3.5 years, and while I have phased out the wood signs and door hangers, I’ve added a lot more product lines. A recurring theme in my shop is military life, and you will find shirts, stickers, and prints for the military family. I also continue to carry seasonal items like ornaments, and the hand painted and hand lettered wood slice ornaments I’ve been selling since the very first Christmas season continue to be one of my best sellers.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
When I first started, I said “yes” to almost every single custom request or order, even if it meant I worked myself to the bone to get it done. I lacked boundaries, and I would work all the time. I also gave way too many discounts in the beginning, and I wasn’t paying myself for the work I did. I gave up my “9-5” to work 24/7, and it was wearing me out. I had to learn over time that my mental health and wellness had to take precedence over sales at times.
It was a hard lesson to learn, for sure. I wanted to be everything to everyone, even if it meant I bought so many supplies for products I would never sell to anyone else. I said “yes” so many times, and in the process, I was telling my family “no.”
At the end of the day, I’m still a human being who deserves to rest. I deserve to be paid for my time, not just for the time it takes to complete a product, but also for the time it took to learn the skills to do it. By saying “no” at times, I’m saying “yes” to me and to my family.
How did you build your audience on social media?
When I first started Love and Lettering by Katie, it was strictly an Instagram account for sharing my lettering and art. When I started the business, my account evolved into a platform to share my products. It took a while for my account to really take off. In the beginning I followed any and every art account, even if it wasn’t in my niche or my style. I did a lot of “follow to follow,” and I don’t recommend that. Followers don’t mean anything if they aren’t seeing what you’re putting out there and engaging in your content. The same goes for who you follow. If you don’t feel a connection to someone’s account, unfollow.
It took a long time to grow my account, but I feel like I am finally beginning to see more organic growth. I’ve challenged myself to post 1-2 reels or TikToks daily since the beginning of 2024, and I’ve watched my engagement skyrocket. I don’t post only about my business on my account, and some people might not agree with that, but it works for me. I want someone who comes to view my social media to see that I am more than just a business owner. I share the real and the struggles.
If you’re just starting out, I highly encourage you to focus on one platform. I still believe you should be on multiple platforms, but one will be the one you focus on most. Reuse your content for the other platforms. Recycle your content. You don’t have to be “on” all the time. No one will remember that you shared that caption or that reel 6 months ago. Change out the music, the colors, a few words here or there. Social media is a lot of work, but you will get out of it what you put into it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://spouse-ly.com/store/love-and-lettering-by-katie/
- Instagram: Instagram.com/love_and_lettering_bykatie
- Facebook: Facebook.com/loveandletteringbykatie
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-prill-loveandletteringbykatie/
- Other: TikTok: TikTok.com/loveandletteringbykatie Pinterest: Pinterest.com/loveandletteringbykatie
Image Credits
Kate Spitz Photography