We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katie Guess a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, appreciate you joining us today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?
Covid not only changed my career trajectory back in 2020 BUT it opened up an entirely new way for me to be creative and have another income. When the pandemic started I decided to leave my job of 10 years to pursue freelance design and to be home with my kids to help them navigate remote school. I was thriving in the freelance world and I could make my own schedule with total flexibility. Once schools were back to in-person learning, I wanted to fill my time with something I dabbled in when I was in college, woodworking. I had some extra barn wood slabs from building a desk and decided to get a head start on making Christmas gifts. Since I love food and plating so much, charcuterie boards were a natural fit. I posted my first board online and the rest is history. I was contacted by my first wholesaler, and mentor, and sold out of every single board that holiday season. The pandemic became a huge silver lining for me and my career and it taught me to take the time for family.
Katie, 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?
Hey, my name is Katie. I have always loved design and the arts from an early age and would try to bring in design elements in anything I did, whether I was grocery shopping and browsing logos and branding or making a meal and I would use colors and textures in the presentation. Whatever I was going to do would be centered around creativity. I also love entertaining and being around my family and friends. I’m the happiest and most inspired when surrounded by food and family. When I stumbled into this hobby-turned-business, I was thrilled to be able to incorporate two of my loves…design and food. The biggest reward of all is being able to work with my family by my side and to see how many people believe in me and support my dreams.
The name Bark and Brine® came to be because of the wood and food I work with. Bark represents the “bark” of the tree (I like to create boards using organic shapes and live edges) and “brine” is from olives and other accouterments you’d typically find on a charcuterie. Some people like to think that “bark” represents our pups because I make a lot of Barkuterie boards. And that’s okay, too.
Every board made is unique and can never be replicated. That is why they are so popular. You can not buy anything like it in a big box store. I take extra steps to insure the wood is locally sourced and the packaging is eco-friendly. Being a small, woman-owned business and being able to source local wood, bee’s wax for the finishing butter and even printing fabrics locally for the wax wraps is very important to me.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I am so proud of how I organically built my following on both Instagram (@barkandbrineboards) and Facebook. I have never used any paid ads or companies to “buy” my numbers. I like to get out to network at markets and conferences, and explore new connections on social media. One of my favorite things about the business is collaborating with fellow makers on new products and giveaways. It’s a great way to introduce other entrepreneurs into the wholesale market and use my design skills to help other brands start up. With the increase in orders, I haven’t been able to do as many giveaways but I am not opposed to meeting new businesses and making those connections.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
I have never wanted my business to be a cookie-cutter, large-scale, production line. That would take away the organically crafted element from my designs. You can currently go to any big box store and buy a charcuterie board that is made at a lower price and a lower quality. I didn’t want my boards to be like any other board, I wanted them to be unique and to stand out, so I only sell in small batches. These boards are meant to last a lifetime and be the centerpiece of your entertaining. I sell online through my website, Instagram and Faire (for wholesalers) and I do monthly pop-up events in and around Raleigh, NC.
I was honored to be able to join FAIRE this past January and get my products seen across the nation. I have shipped to 12 more states that I would not have been able to contact without this wholesale capability. I also enjoy being able to connect with my local wholesalers, bounce ideas off them, get them to test products and make sure they have what they need to be successful in business.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://barkandbrinecustomboards.com/
- Instagram: @barkandbrineeboards
- Facebook: @barkandbrineeboards
- Other: https://barkbrinecustomboards.faire.com