We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kandace Parker-Earle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kandace, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Author Richard Rohr once referred to networking as “Utilitarian Friendship.”

I know networking is important; I’m not a dummy, but how I’ve experienced it and witnessed it over the years has left me feeling sad about the whole idea.

I don’t believe in getting to know someone because I know I can use their skills. Since becoming a freelance artist and creative director, I’ve been intentional about how I hold my work relationships. Yes, you are so valuable to my team, but also –– is your daughter liking her new school? I know your dad has been sick for a while. Are you doing okay?

I’ve experienced the burnout agency world and worked for big names with no boundaries. I was able to do incredible work, and yet none of these people knew anything about my life.

Work is what will fill the majority of our lives. I can’t do the surface-level “I use you, and you use me” thing with my time on this planet.

When you work with me, who you are as a person is much more important to me than how you will affect my bottom line.

Kandace, 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?

I’m a graphic designer by trade. Right now, I serve as the Creative Director of The Broad Collective, a female-led experiential marketing agency based in Austin, Texas.

Ali Parker and Whitney Tocco are the two amazing co-founders of our crew. They’re veterans of the event world, and we’ve worked with International racing events and brands we love like Bumble, Variety, Red Bull, and Drybar (to name a few). We’ve designed cannabis tree houses and airstream activations for music festivals around the country.

Our work is very collaborative. We all lend a hand in the creative vision, but I typically facilitate the graphics and design. Whitney and Ali are pros at logistics, budgets, permitting, and timelines and they’ll keep your event from becoming Fyre Festival.

To put it plainly, we’re the queens of putting on a damn spectacle.

I’m most proud of the set design we created for the Variety studio for SXSW’s return in 2021. I’m a film lover, so getting to create a space for some of my favorite filmmakers to experience was an amazing moment for me.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I get this question often. Before I became a creative director, designers would ask me how I got new clients, especially those in the entertainment industry.

Design is interesting. There are thousands of quality resources online that can teach you how to master Adobe and do this job. It’s much more challenging to learn how to send work at the promised time, communicate your process, and be patient with someone’s vision.

I’ve built my reputation on being reliable, honest, and keeping my word. I also believe in treating clients how I would want to be treated. And I would hate if someone phoned it in on my project that meant so much to me.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

As creative people, I believe our output directly results from what we consume and observe on a daily basis. Whether or not I listen to Pusha T one morning will directly impact your design deliverable.

To that end, I think staying curious and motivated is essential to new ideas –– however that looks for you.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert can relax my shoulders and tell me I’m not insane. It reminds me why I create, and I love that.

I’m an OG This American Life listener and have always loved Ira Glass. His notes on “the creative gap” (linked here: https://vimeo.com/85040589) remind me to keep going.

We’ll always be our toughest critics. I’m a fan of creative voices that tell me not to take it so seriously and enjoy the ride.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thebroadcollective.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kandaceearle/, https://www.instagram.com/thebroadcollective/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kandace-earle

Image Credits
personal photos by Katie Childs | project photos sourced from The Broad Collective and Getty Images