We recently connected with Kristine Howard and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristine, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents always taught us the value of working hard, being self-reliant and instilled in us the idea that we could learn to make anything we wanted. We grew up on a tight budget with a family with 7 kids. Usually if there was something we wanted – the question was posed – how can we make it ourselves to save money? We took the time to figure things out! Mom stayed home and had her own side hustle of decorating wedding cakes. Each one of us kids has turned into a maker of some sort, weather sewing, painting, soap making, cooking, building – you name it! The lessons taught by my parents example of hard work, self-reliance and determination really has carried me through all my life. They definitely instilled courage and taking chances in me from a young age.

Kristine, 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 born and raised PNW girl and lived most of my life in the gorgeous state of Washington. 2023 marks my 32nd year as a maker. I started painting years ago when my oldest was a baby to make extra money for Christmas. Christmas Ornaments were my first items and as I got better with painting, I invested in a scroll saw and was hooked!

My love for creating with wood and paint turned into designing pdf painting patterns back in 2001, which I advertised in a National Crafting magazine. As technology evolved, so has how I design projects. Now I design digital svg patterns to create Handmade Home Decor and Wood Kits for Laser Wood Cutters.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I’ve always been a maker and as I stated before, I started doing craft shows years ago and designed pdf patterns. In 2008, I went through a divorce and closed my pattern business down. But I still was making items to sell at craft shows. Fast forward to 2020 pre-covid – and I had just purchased my first laser machine, to add to my saws and cnc machine workshop. I stated selling wood kits to when covid hit, which re-ignited a lot of people who hadn’t painted in years, but were looking for activities to do at home. It was a huge success to the point I needed to upgrade to a larger laser. I was back into designing painting patterns in SVG format for laser cutters and launched these toward the fall of 2020. By Spring 2021, I left my corporate job, and settled into full time designing. I pivoted from just doing craft shows at the holidays, to designing SVG files to help other makers grow their businesses. One of the most fulfilling pivots of my career to date.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

Today I currently have three streams of revenue – Digital Download Files, Wood kits made to order and shipped to your home, and handmade home decor items. All three streams keep me busy, on top of running and maintaining a large Facebook Laser group for various laser makers – from new laser makers to experienced laser makers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesawdustmakery/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesawdustmakery