We recently connected with Katie Jackman and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Recently we walked through yet another loss. Our third loss since starting a family. But loosing our son Crew at 16 weeks has changed our hearts and mission towards our small business. Creating keepsakes to honor those who walk through pregnancy and infant loss has been an honor. We feel the same sadness, we have experienced the similar pain. We strive to create memorable items that can impart a bit of joy or peace to each parent who has to walk through the devastating journey of grief. Our items are handmade, handcrafted, uniquely designed.

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 Katie! The creator and maker at Light&Lantern Keepsakes. It all started when I was an ultrasound tech eagerly waiting for my second baby boy to arrive. We opened our Etsy shop in August of 2020 knowing we wanted to focus on our family needs and create from home. My husband and I started with painted signs and have incorporated my love for sonograms, baby announcements, nursery decor, as well as, creating from our personal experiences of miscarriage, loss of family members and other heartfelt moments. We have grown tremendously and now include laser engraved and cut items in our shop.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has played a huge part in the success of our small business. Our instagram followers have become some of our regulars and truly root for us! The follower count may appear small to some, but the community we’ve built with other makers, loss mamas, expecting mothers and others have made it worth every post. Tiktok has also played a huge part in sales. We will go viral at least once or twice and be flooded with orders. It’s a little more unpredictable but being consistent and investing time into our posts has definitely shown the reward.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

In 2017, we lost my grandma. She was one of my biggest supporters and loved seeing my dreams come true. She left us a very generous gift and encouraged us to chase our dreams. With that, we purchased our vinyl cutting machine. Surprisingly this purchase was a great one as we still use this machine today! Her encouragement helped push me to think deeply about others who have walked similar paths and I thank her for a lot of the success our company has seen.

Contact Info:

• Website: lightandlanternsd.etsy.com
• Instagram: @light_and_lantern
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LightandLanternSD
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-jackman-rdms-ntqr-05b01780
• Other: Tiktok: lightandlantern