We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Tarantino recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

A little general background on me first would suit this story! I’ve always been a creative person, with a love for art and design. I graduated from college with a Bachelors in Art History and History. I then went on to graduate school where I received a Masters of Science in Interior Architecture, and I was a practicing Interior Designer, doing mainly corporate interiors for 12 years. Like I said, I love design. However, what I discovered I DIDN’T like was the corporate world, or type of career that kept me caged up in an office all day. While I was figuring this out about me, I was also meeting my now husband, getting engaged and planning a wedding. Suddenly, a new world of design was opened up to me. I was in love with graphic design and specifically wedding stationery. I began a side business designing custom wedding invitations. After I had my first child, I went back to interiors part time, but was really looking for a way to stay home with her. I decided to stay home but also focus on my little business in the extra (ha!) time that I DID have. So, I began to grow that company. It grew, and then so did our family. My son came along 3 years later and I was beginning to pick up some momentum with my invitation business, but while doing that, I was finding that people were asking me to create extraneous products for them such as thank you notes, and personal stationery. I decided that I wanted to create stationery and small gifts that were not custom, that one could purchase directly off of an e-commerce platform. Meanwhile, my world was full of diapers, spilled cheerios, trips to the playground, and lots of (good) chaos. I started to develop my new business off-shoot, and thought about how nice it was to have pretty cards and stationery amongst the clutter and happy mess of a world with young children. It was a way for me to still feel like I could have an adult world while surrounded by crayons and sippy cups. So, I began to focus not only on stationery, but also art prints and small gifts that carried a feel of simplicity, beauty, a touch of sophistication, all while still being grounded in real life. Again, it was a way to maintain a “grown up” feel in my kid influenced surroundings. So, as it came to be, I decided to name my company after my two children, Teddy and Katy, using them as inspiration and motivation. The days with young children truly are long, yet the years truly are short. My designs reflect things we experience as a family, things that make our home unique, I get inspiration from our surroundings an daily life. While I am inspired by things that I am drawn to, I strive to make my products relatable to many people. My goal is to create unique products that actually appeal to many. I hate cookie cutter spaces and decor, so I try to add an interesting spin. And, through it all, I create pieces that celebrate and elevate everyday life, fit in with whatever daily family chaos you have, yet give you a bit of understated sophistication and refuge. ted&kate fits in somewhere between preschool-art-on-the-walls-Cheerios-on-the-floor and please-don’t-touch-anything-this-room-is-perfectly-curated. Beautiful, yet livable, and always, ALWAYS inspired by my family.

Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As I mentioned previously, I have always had a love of art and design. In college, I decided to double major in art history and history, and managed to land a short internship at Colefax & Fowler, the legendary British interior design firm, while on a semester abroad in London. That sparked my desire to focus on design upon leaving college. I went from college immediately into my masters and received a Masters of Science in Interior Architecture two and a half years later. I decided to focus on commercial interiors and practiced that for 12 years. That career path really gave me the skills to develop design ideas, pitch design ideas, receive constructive criticism, and really hone my eye. However, I discovered that working in an office enviornment was NOT for me, and being beholden to someone’s time clock was very suffocating for me.

While I was starting my family, I decided to develop a small side business that I had been working on, creating custom designed luxury wedding and event stationery. I did this while being a stay at home mom to my two kids. I gained a lot of momentum and experience with that, and still do it a little bit today. But from that, I started to develop an off-shoot business that focused on more “off the shelf” products. ted&kate was born!

ted&kate is a brand that creates and sells simple, sophisticated stationery, small gifts, and art prints. With a nod to my invitation business, which focuses on custom work, ted&kate offers many products that, while not truly custom, can easily be personalized to your specific needs and aesthetics. I ADORE working with my customers, and I love that my products bring them even a small bit of joy in their everyday lives. Many of my customers purchase my pieces as thoughtful gifts for friends and loved ones, and I love hearing the stories of the special meaning of the gifts. One item that is incredibly popular right now are my customized golf course art prints. I have found that people are very loyal to their home course, and love to have a piece of that special place at home. I draw whichever course they desire in my own style, which is simple, minimal, and striking. I label the course and the location, and many times, customers ask me to personalize it with perhaps a recognition of a hole in one, where their house is located, or even an engagement or wedding date. I love the prints, they stand alone as art, and the stories behind them are even better.

I am so proud of how I have built my business up to have a steady stream of orders at anytime, and I am thrilled to now be offering my products in select brick and mortar locations. I am also so proud of the rapport I have built with my customers. I pay very close attention to my customers, and I am very responsive. I like to make sure they know that I am listening to their needs, and that I will do my best to get them a high quality product that they will cherish. I work with exceptional production partners who share my attention to quality and outstanding customer service. In having great business partners, I can continue to offer amazing products and service to my customers.

I want potential customers and fans to know that I TRULY adore what I do, it comes from a place of love and passion. When you purchase and support from me, you are supporting a real person who cares about the product and service you receive.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what has helped me build my reputation within my market is my attitude and attention to my fans and customers. I think that my art and products are beautiful, yes, and I am thrilled when people give me positive feedback. However, what is incredibly important to me is that I am providing for my customers and retailers a product that THEY are also passionate about. As a small business owner, even small successes are worth of celebration. We put our time, money, and love into building a brand we are proud of. We take a lot of care with it. For me, that also means taking the time to connect with my customers. I WANT to know what their motivation behind their purchase is. I find retailers that “get” me and fit into my own aesthetic. I aim to bring joy to my customers and retailers. Therefore, I put a lot of time into fostering those relationships. I approach every customer communication from a place of gratitude and positivity. If a customer comes to me with an issue, I always try to respond from a place of helpfulness. My theory is that, many times, as long as you make your customer feel heard and seen, issues can be dealt with easily and swiftly without damage to your reputation or “ratings”. In fact, I have found that positive reviews come from thoughtfully helping a customer through what initially could have been a recipe for a bad review. What’s the point in coming in on the defensive with customers? They’re there because they like your work!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is actually two fold.

First, the fact that I get to do what I absolutely love to do, and create things that come directly from me and my imagination is amazing. One thing that I didn’t love about working the corporate world, even in a creative role within that world, was the stripping and dumbing down of my creativity. When I would tell people I was an interior designer, they would always say, “Oh wow! That must be so much fun!”. When, in reality, especially in corporate design, initial “fun” ideas were often culled down and chipped away until the final result was barely a hint of the initial idea. It was stifling. Deciding on own my designs and putting them out there for the world to see, just as I intended, is incredibly freeing. I still edit according to client feedback, but I have found that, given my experience, my customers come to me because they believe in my designs and WANT what I have to offer. I rarely feel like I’m compromising my aesthetic or creativity and that is incredibly rewarding.

Second, I love what I call, seeing my work, “in the wild”. It makes me so happy to see what my customers are doing with their pieces, how they are displaying them, how they are using them. When I create a product, it’s because it’s something that speaks to me. So, if someone sees my design and thinks, “Oh, I just love that! I need to have it!”, it is incredibly flattering. When I then get to actually see how it impacts their life is amazing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tedandkate.co
• Instagram: @ted_and_kate
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tedandkate
• Other: Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/tedandkateshop

Image Credits
Sarah Tarantino