We were lucky to catch up with Corin Wilke recently and have shared our conversation below.

Corin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think I have always had a desire to pursue a creative, entrepreneurial path, but for much of my life I didn’t believe that this was a realistic option. I always hear the stereotype for artists that “oh, I was never good at anything else, so I knew it had to be art.” I have always performed well academically, and am a textbook overachiever in everything I do. I was encouraged to pursue a “serious” career and not be a “starving artist.”

But I choose art. Because no matter what else I might succeed at, this is what sets my soul on fire. I love making things, and am happiest with a paintbrush in my hand.

I think we need to let go of the notion that choosing a creative career isn’t a serious or practical choice. It is a needed industry. Design and art are literally everywhere, and aesthetics surround us and influence us constantly.

Owning a creative business takes so much intelligence and hard work. If this is what calls to you, be brave enough to choose it. I think life is far too short to settle for the traditional choice if you have a yearning in your soul that you can’t ignore. Take the risk.

Corin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The essence of Kindheart Designs is kindness – for others, for our beautiful planet, and especially for ourselves. With this inspiration in mind, I create a variety of upcycled goods and original art pieces to bring mental health, sustainability, and vintage-inspired color into everyday life.

All my art starts with retro-inspired, mental health supportive digital designs, which I print on variety of products including cardstock art prints, posters, vinyl stickers, embroidered patches, and greeting cards. I also individually hand paint thrifted t-shirts and thrifted glass and ceramic pieces with my designs and color palette.

Kindheart Designs is a collision of all my passions. I grew up crafting and thrifting, and studied health education, art, and psychology in college. With this business, I’m using all that experience, along with my own mental health journey, to create handmade products that share mental health-supportive messages through art and do so in a sustainable way!

You literally cannot buy my products anywhere else. From the phrases I use, many of them personal mantras of mine, to my lettering and color choices, the art I create is one-of-a-kind. My process of upcycling existing clothing and home decor items by hand-painting them is also unique. Though this approach is more time consuming, every item produced this way is custom-made with color and design choices made to compliment the original thrifted item.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to encourage self-compassion and share messages that people may need to hear. When I have pop ups or shows, sometimes patrons will pause far a few minutes just to read all the phrases in my work. Even if they don’t buy anything or even stop to chat, I love that they can walk away with a reminder that they might have needed.

There are so many messages out there telling us to work harder, hustle faster, and to motivate ourselves by beating ourselves down. I take a different approach. While guilt and shame make us smaller and cause us to turn inward, self-acceptance and self-compassion are the foundation for growth.

We are all imperfect, messy humans doing the best we can. It’s not all good vibes and idealized, social media-ready pictures. On good and bad days alike, it’s important to give ourselves a little more grace. I hope that’s what people take away when they engage with my art.

Or at least, I hope something I painted rainbows on will make them smile.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think choosing to budget for and financially support creatives, artists, and small businesses is vital to creating a creative ecosystem that we all benefit from. Small businesses are constantly competing with huge brands and gigantic corporations, and it’s simply not realistic to expect us to have as low of prices or as fast of shipping times as Amazon. We simply don’t have the infrastructure and resources to do so.

It all comes down to what you value. People will spend hundreds of dollars on a designer t-shirt without batting and eye, or happily take the markup of a luxury car, but call a product from a small business “too expensive.” Trust that we are charging appropriately for our time, talents, and experience. I know you could probably get it cheaper elsewhere, but if art and local, small businesses matter to you, then you have to budget for it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopkindheartdesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindheart.designs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopkindheartdesigns

Image Credits
Choose Happiness Co. Ardent Collective