We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Jennings. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.

Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I think every step I’ve taken before the launch of Velvet Mosaic was part of the journey of getting to this point. I see pieces of the skills I learned over the years that have served me as I’ve launched, and it’s been encouraging to remember that no step is wasted. I mean, I’ve been collecting curios and trinkets since I was a teenager, honing my magpie skills to find the treasures that others don’t see. I’ve made gallery walls in every home I’ve lived in, as well as for friends and family over the years, developing that sense of proportion, finding creative solutions to fit all the eclectic pieces together. I’ve had multiple small projects over the years that have all contributed to where I am today, and I love that. But the biggest thing that I wish I would have done earlier is learn to trust myself. It’s taken a lot of years for me to believe in myself, to know that the collections and installations I’m creating look pretty damn good. And leaning into that has been the biggest game changer for my business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been a maximalist for as long as I can remember, way before that word even existed. Growing up in Austin, TX, one of my favorite past times was going to the thrift store. I loved the thrill of the hunt, and I got really good at finding treasures. Things that were overlooked, I could see the potential in them! I loved a good DIY, and often altered clothing, painted furniture, and mended frames. I was obsessed with interior design, collected old Victoria magazines, and begged my mom to let me rearrange the furniture. Luckily she was very supportive of my quirky interests!

When I got married and started having kids, I lost myself a little bit. It’s really hard to prioritize yourself as a mom in our society, we just don’t have enough support. This was also the era of “Millenial Gray”, when interior design meant painting everything white, with a few neutral accents. IYKYK…

But I’ve worked really hard over the last couple of years to get back to the things that bring me joy. And I realized the part of me that loved finding and collecting passed over pieces, that loved creating vibrantly warm spaces with unique objects, that part of me never really left. In fact, the more I found myself, the more I was able to embrace what I loved without apologizing for having my own preferences. What a concept!

And as I started embracing who I was, I started finding my people online. Thrifters unite, haha! I started finding homes filled to the brim with eccentric collections, and designers who embraced color and pattern and texture in a bold way. It was thrilling to find my community, and I dreamed of a way I could turn my passion into a business.

One day, I posted a video with an offhand idea: to create a Gallery Wall in-a-box. I showed examples of gallery walls I had designed for friends and family, for my own home, and asked what people thought of the idea of buying a Gallery Wall in-a-box kit that was made entirely of secondhand and sustainable pieces, pre-arranged, and complete with a template to make it easy to hang up. And that video blew up. I had hundreds of comments and DMs, and within a few weeks I had launched my website and sold out of my first collection of Curated Gallery Wall in-a-box kits. And so Velvet Mosaic was born!

I’ve thought a lot about why that video popped off, and I realized that there are tons of people who love that moody maximalist aesthetic, and truly want their space to reflect that, but have no idea how to make that happen. So that’s what I do with Velvet Mosaic. I think everyone deserves to have a space that they love, and I want to make that accessible for everyone!

So, I offer multiple options in my Shop. My Gallery Wall in-a-box kits are designed with unique pieces from sustainable, secondhand sources, and each of them comes with a full sized paper template that has all the nail holes marked, so installation is super easy! I sell individual items in my Curio Cabinet, and each piece one of a kind. I have done several Custom Gallery Wall orders, where the client sends me inspo pictures and a brief, and I create a Gallery Wall kit for them made out of completely uique pieces, and I added a BYO Virtual Consultant option this summer for those who have already thrifted a bunch of pieces for a gallery wall, but are stuck trying to arrange them in their space!

It’s been an incredible privilege to work with my clients. To create art installations for their home from pieces that might have ended up in the landfill. To find treasures and ship them out to customers who are just as excited as I am. For me, design is more than just a pretty space. It’s a reclaiming. It’s setting intention in a space. It’s surrounding yourself with pieces that tell a story– your story. And I think that’s pretty magical. ✨

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have a few secondary goals with my business, I want to be profitable, I want to have money to travel, I want to scale up in certain ways. But all of that has to align with my main goal, which is to be true to myself. I am constantly evaluating my business, making sure the next steps are aligned with what I want to do, checking in to see if I’m still enjoying the process, and making sure my work and personal life are in balance. Nothing kills my creativity faster than over extending myself, or getting wrapped up in pleasing the algorithm. I try to stay balanced, because as a small business I have to market my products. But to quote Mary Oliver, I try to “let the soft animal of [my] body want what it wants”.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

As a creative person, and someone diagnosed with ADHD, my brain doesn’t follow the same schedule as others. I have definitely struggled with the admin side of my business, replying to messages, posting consistently, getting packages out on time. I work hard to create systems that help me grow in those areas, and my clients have been incredibly understanding! But I wish more people understood that I am able to do what I do because my brain doesn’t work the same as others. So when I forget to reply to an enquiry for 5 days, please know I’m probably creating an incredible art installation and that I am VERY SORRY 😅

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Velvet-mosaic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velvet.mosaic?igsh=MTJ3OXlqNjA0ZGVicA==
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@velvet.mosaic?_t=ZP-8zOswkUGKyc&_r=1