Yesterday, I shared the first of three interviews with t-shirt lines that I love. And, today, I’m sharing my interview with Kristin, the owner, artist and designer behind KLTworks. KLTworks is actually more than a t-shirt line, Kristin also makes beautiful textiles, mobiles, homewares, decor items, and journals.
I first found Kristin on Instagram a few years ago. I instantly loved her colourful gallery showcasing the beauty of her part of the world and snapshots of her family’s many creative endeavours. After a while I realized Kristin made and sold really cool t-shirts, so the next time Sen needed a few things I ordered from her. Over time, I learned more about Kristin’s unique drawing technique. I knew that if ever I had a blog that I wanted to share her work and her artful, humble, creative way of living with my readers.
Whether or not you are looking for tips to running a business, ideas for small shops to support, or just inspiration in general I think you will love what Kristin shared with me.
Kristin, please tell me a little bit about yourself. What is your background?
When I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do in school was to work at a ‘weasel’ or, as we know it, an easel. I loved it when I could do what I wanted and have free access to all of the art supplies – to do with as I pleased. From 1st grade to my junior year in high school, I was very involved with dance classes. I took tap, jazz, ballet and pointe. I loved to choreograph dances (and still do in my head). I was also in band (played the clarinet) and enjoyed creative writing and English classes a great deal too. So, my creativity has had many outlets over the years.
Additionally, my mother sewed a lot of my clothes when I was a kid and I used to love going to the fabric store with her. I learned to sew early on – but really just made things up as I went along (which I still do). So my love of textiles started when I was small. I majored in fine art (painting & drawing emphasis) in college with a minor in art history and writing. I got my MFA in fine art from the School of Visual Arts in NYC and later got a job teaching painting part time at a small college in my hometown in Washington State (while always working various full time jobs at the same time). I’ve taught there off and on since 1996. I had an opportunity arise when the non-profit that I was working for, changed leadership and direction in 2005- that’s when KLTworks was born. This month, KLTworks will be 10 years old!
What part of the world do you live in?
We live in a small farming town in the Pacific Northwest. It’s an hour north of Seattle, WA and an hour south of Vancouver, BC.
How many children do you have and what are they like?
We have one child named Sayer. He’s almost 8 years old, going on 40- he’s an old soul. Sayer’s extremely creative and loves information.
What are your core family values?
I live by the same moral code as I always have and married a person that believes in very similar values. We believe in living authentically, true to who we are as people – not getting wrapped up in what is trendy or popular. We believe in being kind, creative, appreciative, loyal, and true. We believe in working hard and not taking things for granted. We always want to be learning something new and making things by hand. Family and the people that we care about, are the most important thing to us. Our goal is to pass all of these things to Sayer.
How do you spend most of your days?
If it’s a school day, walk Sayer to school and then I have time to work. The big trick is narrowing down my ideas. I have to float between creating, making, marketing & managing. Some days I’m better at certain things so that usually dictates what I work on if there isn’t a specific deadline that I’m trying to meet. My life revolves around setting timers so that I don’t slack anything that needs to get done- when I work, I tend to get into the creative bubble and lose track of time. When the timer goes off at the end of the day, I walk down to Sayer’s school to pick him up. Most of our days are spent making things– all of us. Seriously, our house is a working studio. Chris is a ceramic artist who teaches at two local colleges. He’s always working on something. Sayer is usually making maps of some sort or playing his electric guitar. I’m usually trying to figure out which idea to work on next.
What is your favourite thing to do as a family?
It’s hard to narrow it down. We spend a lot of time together. I like exploring and enjoying the valley together. We live in a beautiful area and like to take breaks outside either in our backyard, biking, going to the beach, going on the boat with my parents, or (particularly in my case) taking photos. Sayer loves maps and is a human GPS. It’s fun to have him map out places that we haven’t gone before and follow his directions. Probably my favorite thing is when we are all in the studio together, making things and listening to music. Chris & I have studio spaces that are connected– which includes a space for Sayer. We all love music and also really enjoy going to live concerts together where there is room to dance.
What are you passionate about?
I would have to say that I’m a passionate person – so I’m passionate about many things. I’m passionate about human rights, equality, creativity, making, all forms of art (dance, music, fine art, writing, photography), and learning.
What inspires you?
My inspiration comes from my family, nostalgia, childhood, books, movies, and mid-century design. I live by waterways, near farmland in the Pacific Northwest. My imagery and colors are influenced by my surroundings.
What is KLTworks? What do you design and sell?
KLTworks is a working studio in addition to the name of my brand. When I first started out, I made a lot of home décor items, mostly for baby and kids (pillows, prints, mobiles and plush) – very family oriented. I’ve maintained making and selling all of these things over the years but added clothing to the mix in 2007 (when we were expecting a baby). When the market crashed, there was a bigger demand for a smaller price point. So I started putting more emphasis on apparel, namely for baby and kids and had many requests for adult apparel as well. Ever since, my inventory has been a larger percentage of clothing. In 2014, I consciously started making a slow switch back to making and designing a larger percentage of décor.
What does the name mean?
The “KLT” in KLTworks stands for my initials – Kristin Loffer Theiss. KLT works means all that I make or work on. When I named the business, I wanted something that encompassed all that I did and had longevity.
What is compelling about working with t-shirts that keeps you interested?
I think I’ve maintained interest primarily through having Sayer & Chris in my life. They wear everything that I make. It’s fun to have them wear things that I create. Sayer has worn a KLT owl tee his whole life! It’s also really fun to see how people relate to things that I draw. I love that so many kids in particular, connect with my drawings/images. I still love going out and about and noticing someone wearing something that I’ve made. I’ve been doing this long enough now, that I have a lot of really loyal customers that come back for the same image/design in different sizes. I also enjoy the stories about people and their connections to their tees.
How did KLTworks get started? How long have you been in the business? How has your business evolved?
It came about quite organically. It was during a transition in my employment and I was looking for a full time job. I had met some women who had their own businesses making things and I kept those connections during my job search. This was all before Etsy had started. During that time, I just started working in my studio at home as a way of processing and relaxing. I had the opportunity to be a part of a few shows with the work I was making. I started drawing with thread and making mobiles really early on. I started KLTworks in 2005 not really exactly sure what was going to happen, but willing to take the jump to see. While listening to feedback, I started narrowing down my line. The business then sort of gained enough momentum that my search for employment stopped. (Although, I’ve maintained my part time teaching gig teaching painting and drawing at the local college). For me, it’s always been more about creating and designing rather than the business element. Meaning, my process is about making things that I like, I then figuring out whether they are something that I should try to sell – rather than making things based on whether they would sell. You will never see me make things based on current events or what is trendy. I have a thread of continuity in my work that I like to maintain. My designs come from a place that is true to me and based on my experiences or surroundings. Currently, my business has evolved by me figuring out how to design and make more, rather than to spend all of my time filling orders and responding to demand.
KLTworks is a family business, how does that work for you? What is each person’s role?
It’s a family business in the sense that my studio is in our house and family is my first priority. I have never hired anyone (although I have plans to contract with a sewer soon). Everyone in the family has their part, from inspiration and modelling, to helping problem solve a technique or equipment issue. Chris is extremely helpful in the business – he helps me in so many ways. He’s more about supporting me in my needs, be it technical or emotional, rather than about KLTworks as a business. He has a lot on his own plate – teaching and his own art. He did help me design one of the first KLT mobiles, the Crawling Critters Mobile. Sayer is a great product tester and model. I have used drawings from both of them this year in a few KLTworks designs.
Tell me about your graphics, you have a very unique design process.
I love the line quality that I can achieve with thread. I create images by drawing with the sewing machine using free-motion sewing onto canvas. { editorial note: readers you have to watch this video and this video of Kristin drawing with thread } I also enjoy making designs by cutting paper. When I’m happy with a drawing or design, I’ll make a screen using those images. I then screen print in my small, northwest studio using water-based and hand mixed inks onto paper or fabric. I make all my serigraphs and hand-printed textiles, in very small, limited editions.
Recently you decided to bring your printing process in-house. What motivated this decision?
A number of things motivated this decision. First of all, I was really limited in how things were printed. I was working with people that knew how to print, but didn’t have an artistic vision. I couldn’t really try new things. They also knew nothing about working with water-based inks – which I like the feel of better and they require less chemicals during the process. I also paid a lot for printing services (because I kept things local rather than have things printed in factories). I dealt with continuous errors in my printing orders that drove me nuts. Quality control was my number one thing at times. I also had to order a lot of merchandise at one time to have printed so I couldn’t do custom orders or test the waters with what images people liked better. It took a lot more up front money.
In college, I took a screen-printing class called serigraphy. I printed only on paper then, and had used my oil paint (lots of toxic stuff) but I understood the concept. It was hard to sit back and watch printers do something that I felt I could do. I did a lot of research and decided to slowly transition the printing process to be just in-house. I actually really love printing and have worked really hard to make this transition. There was a really large learning curve – printing with oil-based ink on paper is different than printing with water based ink on textiles. I’ve been diligently learning new techniques and setting up my studio in a way that I can efficiently print textiles in my studio by myself – particularly continuous yardage. Another factor is that I wanted to slow the business down a bit. I know that sounds odd, but I wanted to be more thoughtful in the process and make more one of a kind products.
What has made you the most proud of yourself and your business?
Firstly, that the business is still around! About 85% of the stores that carried my work have now closed. This field and market can be brutal. I started at a time when things were really different- when Etsy and social marketing weren’t around. I find that it’s a business in itself to keep on top of things. So much of KLTworks is about learning things that I don’t know how to do. While that causes tears and frustration sometimes, I’m really proud of myself for sticking with my vision and learning what I need to learn to make things the way that I want. I’m proud of the fact that Sayer sees me passionate about what I do and knows that a person (with hard work) can make something out of nothing. I am proud of the fact that I’m continuously growing everyday in my skill set and in my creativity. I love that I’m able to make and create things every day. I don’t do things the easy way and KLTworks is truly something that comes from my heart. I pride myself in my work being unique and not something that you see everyday.
What are your dreams for your business?
My dreams are big and many for the business. Namely, I want to keep things interesting and fun, while spending more time creating rather than production work. I’ve been really interested in making patterns and textile printing – particularly yardage and have lots of plans for how to utilize that interest. I’ve been slowly creating a cohesive décor line that is coming together nicely. I’m learning new avenues and ways to see my ideas realized. I hope to continue pushing myself creatively. I love working with people and collaboration. I hope to nurture more partnerships in the future.
Thank you Kristin!
Readers: You can find KLTworks in a few places: KLTworks, on Big Cartel, on Etsy, on Amazon Handmade, on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, and on her blog “KLT Sketchbook”.
Discount code for KLT on Etsy: KLTIS10 – for 40% off anything in the shop Expires November 18th, 2015.
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