Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cat Chiappa. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Cat, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
It only takes one story to change the world. Imagine what yours could do.
Children are natural born storytellers filled with wonder, boldly following their curiosity without fear of failure or judgement. But, the journey to adulthood is filled with twists and turns, and it can be easy to lose sight of the stories that we once held so dear.
I tell stories because I believe in magic, and there’s always room for a little more magic in the world. You just have to know where to look.
I help people discover their untold story, and give them the tools to share it effectively. We all have a story to share, and everyone deserves a chance to be heard.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
From the moment we inhale our first breath to the time we exhale our last, our lives are filled with stories. They inspire us, unite us and are at the very core of what makes us human. It doesn’t matter where you are from, what you look like, or how you were raised, every single soul on this planet has a unique and important story to tell. The question is, how will you tell yours?
I grew up performing in music and theatre and went on to study it in college. Originally I wanted to be on Broadway and while I still love performing, I was never as myopically focused as I needed to be to pursue that field. My greatest strength is also my greatest challenge, because I have always been someone who can envision several different paths in life to follow. My nickname is Cat (short for Catherine) and I often joke that I truly do wish I had nine lives because there are so many different things I would love to do!
When I was in college not only was I studying musical theatre and opera, I also was heavily involved with orchestral percussion, and I started volunteering at the National Aquarium in Baltimore- briefly considing becoming a trainer and performer at Seaworld. I even had enough credits in college to take a semester abroad studying marine science (completely unrelated to my major) and sail training on a tall ship in the Caribbean. Interestingly enough several years later after receiving my Master of Arts in Teaching in Museum Education I started working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where I spent over a decade creating public programs about conservation, including running our theatrical programming. It’s funny how life works that way sometimes where you can have two seemingly disparate experiences that somehow come together in unexpected ways.
I am a huge lover of travel, experiencing new places and cultures and have always enjoyed taking pictures on my trips. But it wasn’t until I had my daughter in 2013 that I started getting more serious about photography. By the time my son came along in 2016 I had fallen completely in love and was taking all kinds of classes to learn more about composing a great photo and how best to bring it to life in the editing room. I also discovered a deep love of filmmaking which allows me to draw from my music and theatre background. I started to take on clients as a side hustle when we were still in Monterey and when we moved to the Seattle area in late 2019 I intended to continue doing photography as a side hustle, offering documentary-style family sessions.
However, when the pandemic hit everything changed. I watched the decimation of staffing to the museum field as the public was no longer allowed in those spaces due to covid precautions and quarantines. All of a sudden the path I thought I would take wasn’t available anymore. Not only that but I had these kids in the house with no nearby family support who needed to be cared for which meant that I couldn’t work a more traditional job and had to think more outside the box. I took a business course and spent a long time soul searching, and what I realized is that the one common thread throughout every single experience and job I’ve ever done is story. I have always helped others create and share their stories in meaningful and impactful ways, so it was a natural fit to continue to do that with photography and filmmaking.
Early on in the pandemic I took a brand filmmaking class and realized that not only could I help families tell their stories, but that I could apply all of the skills I learned in the performing arts and working in education and non-profits, to help others bring their stories to life in an authentic way allowing them to more deeply connect with their intended audience. I love to inspire people to do great things and my personal motto is that I want to live my life in a way that allows me to have great stories to tell my grandkids. I believe that everyone has a story to tell and that we all deserve a chance to be heard.
When I first started my business I struggled a lot with imposter syndrome. I have always valued education very highly and it took me awhile to get past the fact that I “didn’t go to school for this.” But the more I do it the more I realize that helping others find their story or inspiring them to create new stories and adventures for themselves is something I’ve always done and is deeply ingrained in who I am. And it just so happens that what I DID study in school is immensely helpful and is what I think makes me different from other people. Because I haven’t followed a traditional path into the communication and marketing field, I feel that my diverse experiences both personally and professionally are what set me apart. I truly love to hep others discover their stories and all of my training in music and on the stage helps me to listen for the rhythm of a narrative and to find the moments of impact. My experience in education creating programming for a wide range of audiences from all walks of life helps me really think about a client’s intended audience and lets me articulate the best ways in which to connect with them. I also love to work with clients who don’t need visual content but instead who are looking to really dive deep into their mission, vision and values because I think it’s so important to be clear on who you are and what you stand for. Audiences these days expect that level of transparency and businesses owe it to themselves and their audience to authentically show up. Some of my favorite clients to date, and some of the work I’m most proud of have been Jenny Rhodes with Aligned Yoga, the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Children’s Museum and Launch Learning- an education non-profit in the Seattle area.
I believe in joyful learning, dreaming big and the power of story to change the world. My style is bright, colorful, fun, and filled with joy. I am passionate about education and I love working with kids, education organizations and non-profits. I also love working with small business owners who have a dream and want to share it with the world in an impactful way. I believe that the world is full of amazing opportunities and if we were all more aware of them and had the space to discover new personal interests and career avenues that people overall would be happier and that the world can be a better place. If my talents and skills can help open a door for someone, foster a new interest, or make them feel seen then I have done my job well.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Prior to moving to Seattle in 2019, I spent the last decade creating educational programming for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I have a Master’s in Museum education and it was a field that I loved and was comfortable in. When I was younger I took a lot of photos, but typically only when we would travel. Like a lot of parents, when I had my daughter in 2013 I started to take more photos. By the time my son arrived in 2016 I fell completely in love with photography and really dove in headfirst into learning how to take a great photo and process it digitally. I started to take on documentary- style family clients to help pay for classes and gear. Right before the pandemic, my husband got a new job, so we moved to the Seattle and my plan was to continue to work in the museum field full time and pursue photography as a side hustle.
Then the pandemic hit and everything changed. The entire museum field was decimated. So many of my colleagues lost their jobs, and for a long time opportunities dried up. All of a sudden we were in a new place, with no family or friend support and no childcare for our kids who were 3 and 6 at the time and suddenly had no school. I realized that I couldn’t work in a “regular” job for awhile and that I would have to do something else.
It took a lot of soul-searching, and a great deal of work, but I slowly realized that what I have done in different ways throughout all of my different jobs my entire career, is help others tell their stories and inspire them to go out and experience the world in new ways. That has always been the thread that has been woven through everything I have ever done. Around that time I took an amazing brand filmmaking class with Sarah Kreig and I discovered that I could use my skills as a storyteller to help brands better engage and connect with their audiences. So I started to reach out to some local companies. It was slow at first because some of my favorite clients to work with are education related, or museum based and those places weren’t allowing people on site, but eventually I started to build a client base and began to make photos and films for not just families but also small businesses and non-profits.
My background in the arts (I grew up doing music and theatre) paired with my skills in education and public speaking, help me to connect with a wide variety of people, and really listen to what they are trying to say, and then translate it into a visual medium that authentically tells their story and better connects with their audience. I also offer brand consulting beyond the visual content creation and help businesses better determine their story, mission, vision and values.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
This is a story I always tell people about growing up as a creative person who now has my own business. First of all I never considered myself to be an artist until recently. It was just a word that didn’t resonate with me and made me feel like an imposter despite that fact that I have been heavily involved in the Arts my entire life. Only in the past year have I realized that I have always been an artist, first as a musician and actor, and now as a visual artist, and that it’s OK to embrace that.
The other part of the story is this. I’m 42 now, and I started my business in it’s current iteration during the pandemic- great timing I know. ;-). If you asked 20 year old me if I would ever own my own business I would’ve answered with an emphatic “No!” You see back then when I was studying music and theatre and my life was filled with rehearsals and performances, I would have told you that “business is where you go to die” because to me that was true. Whenever I thought of a business owner or a business worker I had this image in my head of a person in a stiff white shirt and black tie, hunched over pushing papers. It just seemed like the least possible creative thing a person could do.
However, flash forward twenty years and I have since realized that business can be every bit as creative as the more traditional art forms and that it can give you a different but equal level of satisfaction and personal fulfillment. I will always love performing and will gladly take money to do it on the occasions that it is offered, but I also love all of the new challenges I have been learning about that help me build and run a successful business. I am fascinated by the intricacies of marketing and find that helping someone tell a great visual story with their business feels a lot like building a great production on the stage. You are still trying to find ways to best connect with your audience, tug on the emotions and give them something memorable to talk about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catchiappacreative.com
- Instagram: @catchiappaphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catchiappa/
Image Credits
I took all of these images. https://catchiappacreative.com I would also like to showcase some of my video work in the article, but I didn’t see a space to include them. Here are the links to a few of my favorites you can choose from. Aligned Yoga Brand Video: https://vimeo.com/534239887 Magnolia Forest Preschool: https://vimeo.com/534239887 Something Wicked This Way Comes (Personal Project) https://vimeo.com/534239887