We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katherine Shark a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Katherine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

I graduated art school in 2020, which was obviously a difficult time. For about a year after graduating, I was living at home with my parents, working coffeeshop and retail jobs to make my loan payments. I was depressed & unhappy. On a chance, I got a job at a local sewing studio, Needles Studio, owned by Erika. My mom knew her & recommended that I reach out to her, and she offered me a job teaching sewing lessons & helping watch the shop.
That job changed my life – it was the first job that felt meaningful to me, & I was so happy to be doing something related to what I loved. Erika was kind, funny, and most of all transparent – she talked to me about what she charged & why, what her advice was in navigating the industry, and realistic input on what it took to make ends meet in a creative field. Her insight was so meaningful to me, and her competence & organization is something I try to emulate to this day. That job was the job that launched my adult life, & was the most meaningful to me.

Katherine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a patternmaker & designer! I was a fiber arts major in college, and after college became more & more interested in the patterning element of fashion. I love the geometry of fitting patterns together, a puzzle that transform into beautiful & wearable objects. I love the craft of fashion, the details & the intense skill level it takes to produce good work. I’m also beginning my masters in textile conservation soon, hoping to become a conservator at a museum. I love fashion history, & my greatest goal is to be able to work with historical garments, to preserve them for others to learn about! I hope to also meld this with my own work as a pattern maker & designer, creating patterns & clothing that translate the high level of craft in many historic garments into modern day home sewing.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The greatest joy for me is seeing someone wear a garment that I’ve made for them, and seeing them be comfortable in their own body in that way. Clothing has such a profound impact on our sense of self, on the way we feel, and the way other people treat us, so to be able to contribute in a positive way to that for other people is the most rewarding part of my creative practice.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

This sounds counter-intuitive, but my goal at the moment is to collect as many rejections as I can. I’ve been held back for a long time by my own fear of rejection – I’ve not applied to many opportunities (jobs, scholarships, competitions) because I felt like I would simply be rejected anyways. My goal is to always at least try – rejection is an inevitable part of life, but if I do my best to apply and attempt in as many ways as possible, not only will rejection hurt less, but simply as a statistical inevitability, I will begin to collect opportunities and acceptances. It sounds cheesy, but you really do miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!

Contact Info:

• Website: katherineshark.com
• Instagram: katherine.shark
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-s-953335b1/

Image Credits
Photography by Evelyn Ivy (https://evelynivyphoto.com/) Videography by Bennet Holgerson (https://www.benettholgerson.com/about)