We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Tackman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.

Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I went to college at Drexel University in Philadelphia to study photography with the idea that I wanted to work for a magazine in the future. My experience at school gave me the tools to express myself visually while still thinking about how to make a living. But after I graduated, I could not find a job related to photography and I wasn’t ready to jump into freelance quite yet. So I had the crazy idea to go work on a tall ship schooner! It was one of the best decisions I ever made and I still think back and wonder how I had the gumption to just throw myself out there. While I had experience sailing, I had never lived on a boat for more than a week and didn’t know anything about tall ships. But the thing that really inspired me to join in was that the crew was mostly women. Sailing had been mostly male dominated where I grew up so I never thought I could do it myself or own my own boat. I think seeing other women run their own sailing business subconsciously gave the inspiration to start my own business in the future. When I came back to Philadelphia, I was determined and ready to find a new adventure, so I walked around the neighborhood I knew had galleries and creatives. I walked into a print shop with my resume and asked if they needed help. I remember them saying YES! like I had just come along at the right time. This continued as a 6-year career that connected me with so many artists, galleries, creatives, photographers, that really inspired me to keep doing my own work. And it gave me the skills to print my own photography and exhibit in ways that were really exciting to me. I moved on after 6 years to start some freelance photography editing work and build my gallery; Gravy Studio which is an artist run gallery and photography collective. After my former boss closed his print shop to move abroad, I realized I still wanted to work with all those artists I had met over the years. So, I started slowly telling artists that I would see at gallery openings and events that I was still printing but at my own studio. Over the years I have juggled between doing freelance photography, photo editing, and other odd jobs but in 2020 I made printing my main focus. I was too scattered with jobs that I couldn’t flourish and grow my printing business more. In 2022, I rebranded my print shop to Butterfield Editions which is in the Paradigm Arts Building, on the same street that I started my printing career (just two blocks away.) My journey as an entrepreneur has been a more organic one where I find real connections with artists that I admire and want to help them create their vision. This year especially, working with a successful gallery that supports its artists in many ways has kept me inspired along with the loyalty of all my customers from years ago.

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.

Butterfield Editions offers fine art prints along with many creative services including photography, scanning, image editing, and printing tutorials. I am very communicative with my customers to make sure they are getting what they want as their final product. If there are issues with sizing or format of the image, I will give people advice or help them solve the issue. Many printers will just get the file and print it to their specs but if I see an error in spelling, a reflective dot in the sky of an image, a piece of hair askew or anything in the image that might make the customer not like the final project, I will try to solve the problem before it gets printed. That takes more time and patience but I find its worth it to have repeat customers and more referrals. I have a wide knowledge of papers, materials, and substrates to print on including traditional fine art papers, self-adhesive wallpaper, fabrics, rice papers, and more. I think my curatorial skills are a big asset to clients because they trust that I can help them visualize the final product in a way that best suites their creative idea.

As I continue to grow my brand and printing business, I still have other photography related projects that keep me going and connecting with people. As one of the founders of Gravy Studio, I curate photography exhibits and work with artists to create unique installations of their work. I am also founder of the 20/20 Photo Festival here in Philadelphia which promotes photography by hosting free workshops, artist talks, and programming every September. And my other role is archive manager at the Alexander Artway Archive which is a historic photography collection from the 1930’s-40s mainly of New York City architecture and landscapes. I have found a balance over the years between all these projects and also incorporate my printing work throughout the year as needed.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have been thinking about this question a lot lately because sometimes I get caught up in the day-to-day work that I don’t think about the long-term goals that I need to set for myself. My goal with Butterfield Editions is to create a space where artists can look to me as a resource for printing and curation to fully realize the project they have in mind, no matter the cost. I find that many artists don’t have the resources to fully implement their projects, so they compromise on their vision. One day I would like Butterfield Editions to become a non-profit or be able to give out special grants each year to artists who need assistance with a project. I would also like to continue pushing the boundaries of how one can use digital printing in their artistic practice by combining digital and traditional printmaking processes together.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think many people who are not in the creative field don’t fully understand and overlook the value of a creative mind in a project or at a company. Especially now with social media and content creation as a main driver in sales and brand awareness, I think companies need to invest in their creative employees and partners in an equal way as in any other business partner. And we also have to be our own advocates for equal and fair pay once you join in on a project. I still struggle with this probably because it was always expected that an artist would not get paid for things like an internship or social media posts because its “good exposure.”. Learning the value of your time and skills is important in the development of any business or artistic endeavor.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ktbutterfield.com/
• Instagram: @callmebutterfield @butterfieldeditions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/butterfieldeditions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktbutterfield/
• Twitter: None
• Youtube: None
• Yelp: None
• Soundcloud: None

Image Credits

Harris Fogel, Robert Collier Beam