We were lucky to catch up with Kathleen Padgett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kathleen, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

During and after college, I found myself working a handful of odd jobs. I waited tables for a long long time and I also worked for several event based marketing companies. I’ve didn’t know what it was like to work Monday – Friday, I always worked holidays and weekends. The grass always seemed greener on the other side. I really longed for the normal 9-5 job, I could spend time with friends on the weekends and have nights off. I craved this until I finally got my golden ticket and started working for a custom manufacturing company and I quickly learned, 9-5 and office culture was NOT for me. This is where my professional makeup career began though. While working as an inside sales person, my only form of communication with clients was through email or over the phone in an open office for anyone to hear my conversations. While working everyday in a strange office culture, I realized why I didn’t enjoy it. I communicate best by working face to face with my clients, I like to read body language, I love seeing my clients smile and I love being on my feet and working with my hands. One day while crying on my lunch break, I called the restaurant I previously worked at and asked if I could wait tables while I figured my life out. This is when I made the decision that I want to live my life according to me. I enrolled myself into Studio Crush School of Makeup Artistry and completed their program while waiting tables. I love the life and schedule I have created for myself as an Artist.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, I’m Kathleen and I am a professional makeup artist! I specialize in natural beauty and stay true to my tag line of “Simple, Subtle, Stunning Makeup”. My services range from helping brides prepare for their wedding day, to helping talent get ready to be on set for a commercial and providing one on one lessons to help my makeup beginners learn how to apply their makeup. As a teenager I always had a curiosity about makeup. Back then I would wear blue eyeshadow, which progressed into other beautiful bright colors such as purple, green, and pink as time went on. Colorful eyeshadow is still my thing to this day. After receiving my B.A. in Marketing from KSU, I worked a handful of sales jobs. I was working in an office culture for a 3D Printing company and finally broke down after crying during my lunch break and decided to take matters into my own hands. I quit working there and picked up my previous job as a server in a restaurant where I had available time to attend Studio Crush School of Makeup Artistry. I completed their program and received a certificate of makeup artistry. The school was fabulous and really taught more than just makeup. I started out doing test shoots for models and really used that time to learn what style of makeup was me, Kathleen Artistry. In 2019, I really started to up my game and dove into the Bridal industry. I discovered I really aligned with alot of women who don’t wear makeup often and want to feel and look beautiful on their wedding day. In 2018 I started working with a production company for more corporate commercial jobs. This really started teaching me the in’s and out’s of working on set and what it takes to make the talent look great on camera.

A proud moment in my career is when another bridal artist asked me to come work for her on a large wedding. This is an artist who’s work I loved and looked up to. I was ecstatic and nervous she asked me to join her. After that wedding, she kept booking me for more and more weddings, it made me feel good knowing my work was worthy enough to work with her. My other proud moment in my career is working for big name companies. I’ve had clients on the Today Show and on the cover of Good Grit Magazine.

What I love most about being a makeup artist, is helping people learn how to use their makeup. There are so many products and techniques and I really love helping people simplify and understand it doesn’t have to be difficult or hard. I like to take the pressure off them and remind them it is just makeup, we can wash it off and take away and try again.

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

As a young adult learned A LOT about customer service that has molded and shaped the way I provide my makeup services to my clients today. I gained a lot of customer service experience through waiting tables and when I took my inside sales job as a prototyping manager, I was given the book “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless” by: Jeffrey Gitomer. This book really instilled alot of my own techniques and really brought to life what it means to serve your customers. I am a huge fan of customer experience. In my line of artistry, not only do I need to provide great work, but I also need to provide a customer experience. I really feel like that is something I have mastered. This ranges from how I present myself on set, the experience I create for my brides and the experience I can give my students from my lessons. Everytime I have a client, I usually learn something that I can do better, or prepare my client better. Instead of feeling like “aw man I screwed up, or I made a mistake”, I usually think of it as “okay, next time I need to do xyz”

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

If I could take what I know today, and go back in time as a beginning artist it would be to work as much as I could with other makeup artists. I say that because I have now worked with a handful of artist and we all have created our own little networks. We support each other and help each other. It ties into working with one another. I also have learned so much more by working with other artists. Everyone has their own way of organizing their kits and different styles of makeup. It is so much fun to connect with other artist and see how they do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kathleenartistry.com/
• Instagram: @Kathleen_Artistry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenartistry
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-padgett-6362202b/

Image Credits
katee & caroline photography Cinthya Zuniga photography Ari Skin photography Ivo & Ash Imagery