We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tabitha Knight a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tabitha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

It was always sort of there really. It grew from unexpected turns and valleys. I first began my brand as a performance artist, “Tabasauras.” But in 2018 I sort of outgrew the need for that kind of attention, and started working for a very fancy furniture store. I got into Interior design through that work, so I spent a lot of time on the computer being creative. I finally decided it was time to make an interior design website, but I first wanted to update my online artist portfolio. (I’m going somewhere with this I promise).

While making my artist portfolio through WIX, I discovered drop shipping, and a lightbulb went on. At first I just wanted to add a few things here and there that I liked, alongside my artwork for sale. However, it quickly grew into an entire gift department store online. Oh lord, I had so much for sale! There were menus on top of menus, and sections for paraphernalia. I was trying to do way too much.

I was stubborn about it through the pandemic. Peers told me to join Shopify, it was the best platform for sales. Although I resisted at first, I eventually did end up moving it to Shopify. Honestly, it wasn’t really until I moved to Shopify that I made any sales at all. The interface wasn’t what I was used to, but I had taught myself WIX, and Adobe, so I figured I could navigate this too. So that transition was really what helped me pair down my shop a LOT. Which left more room for my original art like I had intended anyway!

Over the course of 2023-2024, I expanded Tabasaurus®, (now “us” instead of “as,”) outside. I signed up for a neighborhood pop up shop event, and brought some trinkets & art to sell. I ended up doing really well selling the enamel pins, and stickers and small things like that. So I decided, why shouldn’t curation be a part of my art process? And we coined our tagline

“Curated for Cuties!”

I started doing popups, markets, and bar events, until a vintage mall asked if I’d like to do a month long pop up there. I said yes, set up shop with all my trinkets and treasures, my vintage clothing (and not so vintage). Then I just ended up never leaving. They liked me so much they gave me the very front wall at the entrance. So I started hanging up all of the things I had found. There was some pushback from the vintage & arts communities, because they didn’t like that I was selling things made in factories. I had to break the news to a shockingly large amount of people that most things are made in factories, and at least my money goes back into our community instead of Amazon.

I did well at the shop, (The Market Downstairs) and had the opportunity to rent a booth at a vintage mall that was in a rough transition. That came with some pushback as well, but at the end of the day, it’s really not about us as individuals.

Over time, I packed my sweet little troves to the brim with treasures. However, during all this time, I was going through a worker’s comp case with my furniture store. Yes, unfortunately I had tripped and fallen on my head, and gotten a concussion, plus some pretty serious whiplash. The insurance company denied my concussion, and wouldn’t answer me, or let me go to any of my Doctor’s referrals, so I figured it was time to get a lawyer. Yuck, I hate even talking about it, it’s been so terrible. Free Luigi.

Anyway, I was disabled this entire time, and working on Tabasaurus®, to the capacity I was able. I needed manual labor help to actually do anything. I burned through some friendships with the complications of paying and needing help as a friend. It’s obviously so hard out here for all of us, that once I didn’t have disability to help me give people some money, I ran out of help.

That is when I decided to take on an intern. I met Marissa and interviewed her for the position. She didn’t meet a lot of the requirements I put on my hiring call, but I didn’t care because she was perfect. She still is! I’m still blown away that my knowledge is enough to satisfy anyone’s time and labor. But here we are, almost a year later working together and she’s learned so much. She is what’s known as an “entern,” because she will be eventually entering into the company. And between us, I would love to put her in charge someday.

So that’s why I say it snowballed. When I was Marissa’s age, I wanted to be a singer, movie star and model. Although I did those things for a while, it wasn’t actually what I truly wanted. I did not know what I wanted until it started to happen.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Tabasaurus® is still a bit of an alter ego for me, although now she’s not only mine. That was one of the changes that was kind of difficult to make. I had been “Tabasauras” as a performer, but stupid men would say, “Tabby-Sore-Ass,” and people would usually write “us” at the end anyway. So I decided she’s no longer just mine, she belongs to “us” now, and I trademarked it.

“Tabasaurus®” as a character, is now the guardian of my inner child, as well as anyone else’s that wants a Tabasaur in their life. She is a kind, sassy, three-eyed pink dinosaur with crystal spikes and a little heart mark on her butt.

I am a multimedia artist, I work with whatever sparks my interest, but primarily I do a lot of drawing and sketching. I love drawing, it’s one of my favorite things to do. I love drawing little characters that look funny. I put them on T’shirts and sweaters for my brand. Like recently I did a shoebill stork, and my friend bought the hoodie of it! It came out cute too!

The print on demand option has been good, but I’m still working on actually making money from it! I find that selling in my shops has a much better success rate than online. People are so overwhelmed on the internet now. it’s next to impossible to get them to visit your website. And linking to all the big stores, like Meta, and Amazon, feels so gross for me…. I mean I still do it, because of money, but if I didn’t have to I wouldn’t.

I’m still planning what I really, REALLY, want to do, and that’s travel. I want to visit Italy, and Japan, lot’s of places. The idea, is that if Marissa can carry the torch here one day, than I can go see what else is out there for me. Having physical space is a commitment, and especially now more than ever, the future feels unsteady. I originally planned on staying and maybe opening up a store, or a truck. I was planning on having a “Tabasaurus®” truck, or bus, that I could take to events and do popups in. But now, I don’t feel hopeful for any of that. I feel like selling off everything and leaving. It’s interesting, how clear a decision can become once you’ve had all hope of the outcome stripped away.

It’s also exciting! Because now that those ideas have been put to rest, there’s a completely new pathway that’s opened. That’s the thing with fear in our nervous systems. It is the same bodily feeling as excitement. So every time I’m afraid of something, I think, how can I switch this to excitement? It takes some time, but it’s a good practice to try.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience can really boil down to a lot of things, which seems to my theme here. I have some diagnoses that affect my brain and feelings. I’ve been depressed for as long as I can remember, and I had a pretty rough childhood. Nearly every night of my life, I put off going to bed. I get anxious about the next day, and sleep means nightmares for me most nights.

Then mornings are so rough, getting out of bed, unless I’m excited, is really hard for me to do. I like to live in bed. I spend so much time sitting on my bed watching TV and rotting. Every day fresh horrors await, especially now. Plus I’m still dealing with that concussion workers comp stuff (3 years later), so I feel trapped in my life. Like I don’t have control over it. That’s when it’s hardest for me, when I don’t feel like I have agency in my life. Honestly, bad spirals, are really bad. Like, don’t want to be here anymore bad. But, I have this unshakable stubbornness to pursue my happiness.

I would say something cliche like “one foot in front of the other,” but that would be only a fraction of the truth. I have afforded myself an excellent support group of friends in my life. Whenever I feel like everything is pointless, I go spend some time with my buddies. We go to goodwill, get some fast food, and just vent vent vent to each other. I wouldn’t be here if these people hadn’t shown up in my life. They are wonderful, and since the pandemic, I just don’t bother wasting time with people that don’t like me, or that I don’t like…(with a couple necessary exceptions I suppose..).

I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with saying “no,” That’s a BIG part of resilience. Standing up for myself, has really led me on a quest to less, (pardon me) bullshit. I stopped caring what strangers think too. Thanks to the pandemic, I stopped wearing makeup and stressing about how I look all the time. I finally just chilled with myself. That is how you keep going.

Resilience in my mind always looks like someone climbing up a really steep cliff, sweating profusely. But it’s not like that always. Sometimes resilience is quiet. Sometimes it is personal or private. Sometimes, resilience can mean crying for hours, napping and then saying, “Ok, let’s try again tomorrow I guess.” If you’re not motivated, you have to spend some time with yourself to figure out what is motivating for you. I used to journal a lot, but some people do voice notes or vlogs. You have to process your emotions to think straight. You’ll have too much on your mind if you don’t process and release your emotions.

I think people should know that more. That resilience isn’t always running a marathon, but sometimes is quiet, soft. Your resilience will come from what you think you deserve. And I know this one actually is cliche, but be kind to little you. I check in with her all the time. I imagine 6 year old me, holding on to my pant leg, hiding like I used to; and it’s my job to protect her. Someone wants to scream at me for something? That’s fine, I can take it, I’m grown. But when I feel it start to make little baby Tabitha tremble & tug, THAT’S when Tabasaurus® comes out. That’s when the kind beast with sharp teeth says “you will absolutely not treat my baby like that.”

Inner child tends to have a stigma associated with weakness, but I have found that embracing her has made me feel more powerful than I have ever felt before.
Treat you inner child right, listen to them, and you will always be resilient. That’s honestly what Tabasaurus® is all about.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

“I guess I’ll just have to do it myself.” Also known as: “If you want it done right, you’ll have to do it yourself.” That’s the lesson I had to unlearn. I grew up with two self employed parents that were very bad at bookkeeping. They could have been so much more successful if they just had someone keep their books for them, but my dad never wanted anyone seeing his finances. He is a very proud man. He doesn’t like “handouts,” so they won’t get any kind of state assistance or anything against their better interests. The thing is, my dad always assumes that he knows best, and his way is the correct and only way. But when I got older, I realized how bad it is to be that way, and how important it is to accept feedback.

You HAVE to get help. You just do. It’s good though! Marissa is amazing, we actually both needed help, and ended up finding each other. You really never know what will happen if you don’t step outside of yourself once and a while.

I’ve had to survive off food stamps and kindness for a while, and I realized people don’t think less of you when you ask for help. Most people are actually pretty stoked to help. Everyone wants to feel needed. Think about it this way too; asking someone for help with something you know they do well, will often make someone feel inspired in themselves. They feel seen too, you know?

For example: I went to art school and we had critiques for every single project we worked on. Some freshman dropped out because they didn’t like being told what to change. Those who stayed continued to improve their crafts, and grew as individuals.
Now, I still have best friends that I send my work to, and ask for improvements. I trust them at their crafts. My friend Melissa, is a designer for the state of Oregon, and I always run things past her. I know she is capable and brilliant; so I trust what she says.

In that way, consider the bookkeeper, the accountant, the salesperson, the manager, and even the often overlooked cleaning crew; experts in their crafts. A dream team at your fingertips. What a privilege to have that resource of a community, built on trust.

Feel confident in yourself, enough to know that you are capable of getting help, asking for feedback, and changing your opinion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tabasaurus.com/
• Instagram: @tabasaur
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tabasaurr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tabithaknight/
• Other: Follow me on Bluesky @Tabasaurus