We recently connected with Kate Nickols and have shared our conversation below.

Kate, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

We had our own side hustles before we got married and combined businesses. Nate was a former hotshot on a wildland crew in Idaho, where he learned to sew his own gear out in the field. He currently works as a firefighter/paramedic in Durango, where he started honing his sewing skills by building his own river and bike gear. He would stockpile old firehose from the fire station, as he knew it would be tossed and wouldn’t decompose. When we bought our first home, we installed a woodfire stove in our house and studio spaces. This is when the first repurposed firehose log carrier was created. It went through many designs and has landed on what we sell today. From this design, we launched the repurposed firehose tote, which is most likely our best-seller! Who doesn’t love a bag?

I have been an art educator for 15 years. I dabbled in different types of art forms with my students and always wanted to branch out on my own. I took a class in metalsmithing because I wanted to learn how to remake a family heirloom, and I was hooked! From there, I outfitted Nate and I’s wedding with custom bolo ties, earrings, and rings. This started our trajectory into the world of farmers markets, shows and festivals. Over 6 years, we have slowly grown through markets, online and in person shops. These days you will find us at working to fulfill our online shop, and at shows and festivals with our 1 year old son and geratric retrievers.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

All pieces are one of a kind and handmade by the husband and wife team, Nate and Kate, in Mancos, CO. Nate, a firefighter-paramedic, learned to sew on a wildland fire crew in Idaho. Kate is a metalsmith and creates wearable art in silver, gold, and semi-precious stones. Our stories, adventures, and the world around us fuel our designs and functional sewn gear. We use repurposed and sustainable materials as much as possible. A percentage of profits from the repurposed firehose totes are donated to local non-profits.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

You wear all the hats in your own business! Not only are you the creator, but you also market, correspond, order, ship, plan, and budget, to name a few of our responsibilities. This gives you the freedom to do what you want with your business, which is gratifying, but it’s too much to take on with just two people. We realized we needed help. This pivot allowed us to spend more time on what we love doing: creating. We hired a marketing person who also happened to be interested in learning the jewelry side of the business. She now helps create, attend markets and festivals, and does our website, marketing and social media. We also hired someone to help sew our repurposed firehose totes, which has helped immensely with production! We’re proud of the small business we run with our 1-year-old at our feet, but we couldn’t do it without our employees!

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

From day one, we have maintained a strategy of not overextending ourselves in funding. The success of our business is built on the revenue we receive. Of course, this means we grow when it’s going well and slow down production when it’s not. We have found that we have faster and slower seasons in our business and budget accordingly. Instead of applying for a small business loan, we have slowly and organically grown our business as side jobs to our higher paying salaries. Gradually the scales tipped as we starting making more money through Thread Metal Stone and we were able to spend more time creating for our small business. This led to hiring on employees and quiting my teaching job. We often got advice on finding investors or applying for loans, but neither one of us felt comfortable with that. We wanted autonomy to grow our business the way we saw fit, albeit slow, it is all ours.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.threadmetalstone.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/threadmetalstone
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/threadmetalstone

Image Credits
Personal photo: Austin White, paid for by Hest www.hest.com Dogs photo: Emily Sierra https://emilysierra.com The rest are taken by Kate + Nate