We were lucky to catch up with Katie Brobst recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
As a child, I was surrounded by creative people. My mom was a quilter and owned her own business, my dad had his normal job but would work on carpentry projects on the weekends, and I have three big sisters who were all creative in their own ways. The shop that my mom owned was just down the hill from my elementary school so when the school day was over, she would walk up to pick me up, and I would spend my afternoons surrounded by beautiful fabrics, paints, and other craft supplies. This was a little girl’s dream.
Naturally, I learned how to sew, quilt, and paint in this shop. When I wasn’t there, I was at home talking my dad into giving me all of his scrap wood from whatever project he was working on. I would get all the scraps that were useless to him, but provided a world of possibilities for me.
As time went on, school took over most of my time. I remember sitting in high school in one of the first art classes I ever took where I was met with some discouragement when it came to my art. I couldn’t draw “well”, and the art teacher expected you to be able to or it “wasn’t good enough.” There went my dreams of being an animator (which was always one of my biggest goals). When it was time for me to go to college, that art teacher’s voice was in the back of my head so instead of going into art or design, I chose to go into education and become a teacher. At the time I felt like this was the easy route but, in fact, this would turn out to be exactly where I needed to be. Life is weird like that sometimes.
I got my Bachelors Degree at Maryville College right outside of Knoxville, TN, and it was there that I found my true inspiration. I decided to minor in Visual Communications while getting my teacher licensure (best of both worlds). My design professor was the teacher I was missing in high school. She understood that everyone has a style and what works for one person might not work for others, and that’s ok! After getting my degree I did go on to teach for a few years before deciding that kind of teaching wasn’t for me.
Instead, I opened my own business, Kate & Co. Studio, and began working as a graphic designer and doing art in my free time. Today, I still do design work where I might create new products or branding for products, but I also am a painter and illustrator. I just got the first book I’ve ever illustrated published after a wonderful friend asked me to illustrate a book she had written.
I still find time to teach, and the past couple years have volunteered at an after school program at a local middle school providing art classes to the students. My passion will always be in art and education. Combining these two things is my favorite part what I do!
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?
My name is Katie Brobst, and I am a small business owner of Kate & Co. Studio, an art and education studio. Currently residing in beautiful Chattanooga, TN, my craft includes illustration, painting, and visual design. I decided to open my own business when I was just out of college and had too many paintings stacking up. I figured what could it hurt to start selling my art? I didn’t have much of a direction at first, but instead created what I thought would help me make money. In time, over the past 10 years, I have refined my style to create a cohesive brand and image for myself and my business.
After moving to Chattanooga from Knoxville about 9 years ago, I found myself involved in the music community in town (specifically bluegrass). I would go to events and paint my normal art when someone suggested I do a music related painting since there were always artists wandering about. I did, and that opened up a huge door for my business. I have been painting musical instruments for about 6 years now. Everything I do is done on old barn wood or recycled wood from various places. I will sometimes work off of a photo someone gives me so I can get all of the little details in that I can. I have expanded to doing jewelry as well on recycled leather pieces.
My main “job” at my company is working as a designer creating products, branding, and other graphic design materials. I also volunteer as an art teacher bringing art to a local middle school. My passion is in teaching, and as a former teacher, I am looking forward to getting back into the classroom again some day. In the meantime, I am working on illustrating various children’s books, and just had the first one I illustrated published just a few weeks ago.
One of the biggest issues I have run into with owning my own business is the lack of information on what you are supposed to do as a business owner. There are forms, deadlines, taxes, and all kinds of information that is not taught to you or easy to find. That has certainly been a source of stress but with some grit and determination, it is all achievable.
My goals for the future of this business include expanding the education portion to other students in the community, creating a stronger online presence, and creating art and experiences for the community that are meaningful.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
How many times have you heard the phrase “I wish I had that kind of talent.” or “I can’t do X, I don’t have those skills”? Have you said it yourself?
In one of my graduate courses, I was tasked with coming up with some sort of curriculum to teach to a group of people. I chose to create a course on teaching how to get rid of the “I’m not good enough for that” mindset. My art is just like any other skill meaning it has taken a lot of time and practice. There are so many people who have that mindset engrained in their head that they often won’t even try to do something. Any athlete we see whether it’s baseball, football or the Olympics has had to spend countless hours working on their sport. Musicians do not just suddenly have talent. While there are people who pick things up better than others, it’s also a mental game that I try to get people to understand.
How can we change that mindset to set ourselves free to try the thing we’ve always told ourselves we can’t do? Just remember that anything worth doing takes practice, practice, and more practice! It’s not easy a lot of the time, but if you have a goal in mind and keep your eyes on it, you will have a much better chance of reaching it with the right attitude.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
While I was going to college, I was working as a preschool teacher. Teaching was easy for me so I decided that’s what I wanted to do. While I loved my job, the kids, and the lessons, it wasn’t fulfilling to me. I struggled with where I was supposed to be for a few years. When I moved to Chattanooga I worked as a Pre-K teacher at a local school. Each day I came in without the spunk and tenacity I once had for the job. When I was on my lunch break, I would sit on my phone and look at other jobs. This was where I first found one of my biggest clients who I still work with. They offered me full-time hours, and mid-year I left the school. It was a hard decision, but it was without a doubt the correct one. The kids deserved someone who is 100% there for them. I had my mind on other things, and that wasn’t fair for them.
This was one of the biggest pivots in my career, and this was a huge change of pace for me. I went from having a classroom of 20 4 and 5 year olds to working from home in the quiet of my own house. It was quite challenging, and I found the silence to be very loud sometimes. Looking back, I know that all happened for a reason. Moving into that new position opened up many doors for me and allowed me to work from home and have time to go out in the community to teach children in a less rigid way. Now I go out and bring art supplies to the schools and create cozy, creative environments for them to explore their interests. Despite what life throws at us, it has a strange way of working out in just the right way to make you say, “Hmm, that had to happen in order for me to get here.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kateandcostudio.com
- Instagram: kateandcostudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateAndCoStudio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-brobst-4a6b0633/