Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Haddad

Hi Kristin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Killustrate it is all about creating one of a kind HAND PAINTED art that gets you amped and inspired. The name Killustrate it comes from, me loving to illustrate. My name starts with K and “killer” work is my goal. Most of my work revolves around car culture, but is certainly not limited to that. Hand painted car art is a bit of a dying breed, but I think it is slowly making a come back. Currently I am a one women army, but would like to expand by teaching young artists the trade by passing the brush on to the next generation. If I didn’t I would be afraid I’d be contributing to its demise. I want Killustrate it to have an impact on keeping IT alive. My grandparents specifically have a great deal to do with inspiring my business. Mimi, my grandmother, is an artist and she’s the one who sparked my interest in art at a very young age. Very talented canvas painter. All I wanted to do was paint. I don’t remember a time before that actually. Papa, had a construction company in Hampton, still family owned today. Donahue General Contractors. He had beautiful hand lettered and pinstriped trucks and equipment. He also was a classic car enthusiast, so needless to say I’ve been comfortable in garage settings all my life. Plus my dad and uncle are very much into motorcycles. So much that, my brother, cousins and I raced flat track as kids in New Hampshire. I love the race track setting always have incredibly inspirational to me. The sounds, smells, scene of everyones customized cars and bikes really revs me up! Pun intended.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

It absolutely has not been entirely smooth. There have been struggles for sure. Like most things there are definitely ups and downs. You gotta do what you love! Go after it full throttle. Never forget to reflect on how far you have come & often. Step forward into now. May your mistakes and challenges you’ve faced drive you to live your very best life today. In your personal life as well as your business RIGHT NOW. To love yourself dearly always and forever. Even in times of woe have the faith that you will succeed and you will. If you don’t pick yourself up by the boot straps and get back at it!!!!!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

As I said earlier, one of my main focuses career wise is automotive art. Race, cars, motorcycles, firetrucks tractor trailer trucks, food trucks. But again certainly not limited to only things that drive . I will take on any project that needs to be artistically handpainted and I also do most of my design work unless we’re doing a replica of something that already was. Some of my most favorite projects include A faithful recreation, of a historical drag car. 1963 Chevy Impala Z 11 (super rare car). I was commissioned to paint this a Few years back. The New York Shaker can be found on YouTube. https://youtu.be/K6kHPM3xkBc
another is a 1946 Mack firetruck for the north Madison Fire Department. They had me do all the gold leaf repairs on the entire apparatus and add a few customizations. One more milestone I would like to include as it’s also one of my favorite jobs that I’ve ever done, another faithful recreation of a historical drag called the rectifier. An Oldsmobile 442. Peter Herbst drove all the way from Florida to have me letter it. I think about that job all the time because of the pure blissfulness, I felt as I was painting. And even more joy that it brought me and Peter when we got to look at it together for the first time. It was pure magic.
I would say what sets me apart is my services are definitely a morale boost, most of the time my customers are very excited to see me because they know they’re going to have something really special done and that makes me feel really special and that makes me do an even better job. I am all about that. Most every job I do is to boost morale. Whether it is for a gold leaf on a truck or a sign for fire department, a mural for a yoga studio, the local hardware store, body shop, barbershops, tree companies, ice cream shop, eyelash studios, the rotary club, restaurants and bars….or a single person, who wants something hand painted just for them. Having something custom designed and then hand painted means it’s very important. I take that very seriously and put a lot of love into everything I do. Every time I work with another small business I try to boost them up as much as possible when I am advertising the work that I do on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. I think it’s very important to boost each other up and approach everything as lovingly as possible.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?

I am a firm believer that you make your own luck. I believe it’s important to visualize the best possible outcome in every situation and to be in the right mindset when you start any job. You always attract what you put out into the universe. To me it’s that simple. Yes, we all have cranky days and get in poor mindsets at some point or another, that is totally normal. Bringing my attention back to my intention through breathing techniques helps let go of hateful emotions thus staying balanced, calm, productive and lucky as hell. I learned that through yoga, which I recommend to everybody everywhere no matter what line of work you’re in.

Pricing:

• Know your worth
• Don’t underestimate how long something will take

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Killustrateit.com
• Instagram: @killustrateit
• Facebook: Killustrate it
• Youtube: Coming soon!
• Other: Threads @killustrateit