Meet Katherine (KT) Homes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Homes.

Katherine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always been a huge advocate for the wild and the natural world. My earliest memories are exploring the creek and Rhubarb swamp behind our house, under a willow tree… the fruit trees in our front yard… the forest in our backyard. I always felt there was this incredible amount of wisdom and knowledge coming from the Earth, even as a young child. I have always felt this sense of duty to protect those that don’t have a voice to speak up for themselves. I’ve always loved art, drawing, painting, and exploring the creative process. I’d often roam around our backyard and sing to the birds and squirrels, I’m not sure if I got this from all those Disney movies, ha, but it was, and still is, one of my favorite things to do.

Fast forward many years later, I was traveling through New Zealand just after I attended college. I had the privilege to work on a movie set, and then I hit the road. I lived in a van for a few months (this is 16 years ago) while I bounced all over the North and South Islands of New Zealand. I was on a mission to explore as much of this world as possible and learn how various groups of individuals live in harmony with the natural world… what was working and what wasn’t. From there, I traveled back and forth from the states to Australia, India, Nepal, Bali, West Kalimantan, Malaysia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Mexico.

I’ll spare you all the in-between details. After working for a few organizations in climate change and conservation, I decided I wanted to merge my non-profit background in strategic partnerships, creative communications, and fundraising development with my creative side. Communicating the complexities around environmental and social issues is no easy task. I felt that music and art could accomplish telling these stories, highlighting conservation issues, threatened species, and wildlands, in a non-aggressive way. The goal was to educate a larger audience while also being able to use some of the profit of sales to help organizations continue to the work they do.

In 2016 I launched a music album called Speak. It was an album compiled of songs I had written over the last decade that speaks to the complex relationship between humans and humans, and humans and the natural world. I launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete the album, and some friends encouraged me to use my art as a way to give back to supports who gave to my campaign. I made home decor prints of some of my paintings and put the designs on hats.

In mid-2017, I did a test run at a local winter Festival where I sold about 100 hats. I then solidified a business loan from Colorado Lending Source. I ordered a heat press machine and spent all of that Spring and Summer heat pressing patches of my designs onto blank hats in the sweltering heat in our garage. I slowly built up a website, my inventory, the organizations I wanted to partner with, and my designs. It was really a step by step process with an enormous amount of learning curves. In the Fall of 2017, I flew to REI and pitched my brand and my mission. Then later that November, I started working with Title Nine and was honored as a Mover and Maker.

I’ve built the brand to include compostable and biodegradable stickers, prints of the designs, and Take Action calendars that highlight days of environmental or social action. We are also set to release pre-orders for a coloring book later this May. I have other products in the pipeline, and have completed a test run on both, but pressed pause due to COVID-19. The products are sold on our website, through various retail stores around the country, and at festivals and events. I will be three years this May since I officially launched the Katherine Homes brand and what a ride it’s been!

Has it been a smooth road?
Haha, NO! Not a smooth road 🙂 It’s been a road full of ups and downs, but one worth taking. Cash flow is a real issue for a small business and a business that focusses on having inventory in stock to supply to retail stores.

Attending festivals that may or may not be successful due to weather, time of year. Placement of booths can be a real struggle and a real stress when you put so much time and money into attending events. You never know the outcome of a new festival until you go. The rollercoaster of landing a deal with a larger retail store is a ride in itself!

I am a one women show. I dream of the day I can hire a few other women full time who can help me grow this!

We’d love to hear more about your art.
I have a brand that brings attention to threatened species and wildlands through affordable and functional artwork. I specialize in design – I paint using watercolor on wood – and these designs end up on my products. My designs are fun and playful but highlight serious topics. The idea was to open the door through art, draw the audience in, and then educate them on environmental and social issues that are impacting these threatened species and wildlands.

I’m most proud of getting to where I am as a solo founder. I absolutely did not get here on my own. I have had so much support from my family and friends and my partner, but I’ve been driving this train solo, and that’s an accomplishment in itself. The thing that sets me apart from others… that’s a hard one. There are a lot of incredible artists out there today using their work to make an impact or start an apparel brand or do both. I think the thing that sets me apart is I’m making great products and do it in a way with the least environmental impact as possible for the prodocut. But my products only exist because I believe they are a gateway for individuals to step into the nonprofit world without having to step through a nonprofit. If I didn’t have this greater mission, I wouldn’t have a brand. It’s that simple for me.

My goal is to connect with as many individuals as possible and say, “Your actions matter and they impact the natural world. You have the power to make a difference. There are tangible steps. Here is how you can start.”

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I do think there are more and more individuals using their creative talents to start a brand. I do see more and more companies committing to doing good with their profits and doing the best they can to take the lead on building a brand in an environmentally sustainable way. But we have a LONG way to go.

I try to stay out of the bigger trends and follow my heart on how I want things done. I have a handful of folks and brands that help that internal compass stay on track because I see it’s possible. While I do see larger and small brands using fabrics like organic cottons, hemp, and recycled polyester, eliminating waste from materials and shipping, and having a social good component, there are too many brands not doing that. That being said, I have noticed that more and more individuals really care about who they buy their products from and how that product is made and how it makes a difference, so I do believe that companies will have to shift as their customer shifts how and where they spend their money.

Contact Info:

• Address: kt@katherinehomes.com
• Website: www.katherinehomes.com
• Email: info@katherinehomes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.homes/

Image Credit:
Ben Duke (Duke Media Solutions)

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