I’m Kate and creativity is my passion. I know it’s cliche, but the first thing I ever remember wanting to be was an artist. (I also wanted to be a mail man. I think that’s because I like sorting. And mail. But that’s a different story.) I love designing, lettering, drawing, writing, painting, photography… when I’m doing something creative, I feel like I’m doing what I was meant to do.
But while I love the design part of my job, that isn’t actually my favorite part. Hands down my favorite part of my job is connecting with my clients. Collaborating with talented women, even across disciplines, is where I really shine.
I love working with interior designers, event planners, stationery designers, and really all creative women because I can so relate to them and often get jump-up-and-down excited about their work. That’s where I learn, and that’s what helps me produce the work that I’m most proud of.
I’m fortunate enough to have a family that has fostered and supported my creativity for as long as I can remember. My mom helped instill me with my love of stripes and polka dots, my dad with my love of listening to music, and my brothers with my love of singing Disney songs at the top of my lungs like an total nut. I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have them.
I met my husband, Brian, in high school, and we’ve been together ever since. Katelyn Brooke Designs was born while he was in law school, and he has been super supportive during the long process of getting where it is today. When Brian graduated from law school this year, we moved back to the town where we grew up in Northern Virginia. It’s been good to be back.
A Look at How I got Here
Katelyn Brooke is my first and middle name. When I started my business I had just gotten married and stuck with that since it felt the most like me. However, I’ve pretty much always gone by Kate. My Twitter and Instagram handles are my first and last name.
How did you get started with your web design business?
Good question! I go into how I got started in this post and I also have a running collection of learning resources. But I’m planning on really delving into the lessons I learned early on in my new ecourse, In Retrospect. Shameless plug: you should check it out!
Who do you recommend for web hosting, stationery, etc.?
I have a whole page about that! Check out my resources page.
If you are just starting out as a blogger, I recommend you start on the Blogger platform (I even wrote a whole post about it!) It’s free, easy to use, and totally customizable! However, if you are looking for something more professional or hoping that it will become a business, it might make sense for you to have a self-hosted blog through WordPress.org. I do not recommend getting a WordPress.com blog simply because they are not as easy to customize (see below.) Here is a handy infographic about the difference WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
Do you do custom blog designs for WordPress.com or Blogger?
At this time, I am only doing work for self-hosted WordPress sites. However, feel free to email me if you need a designer recommendation! I have a pretty great list of talented designers that I can send you.
