Who We Are

Kitty Keller, Artist & Founder

Having known from day one that I am an artist and set on that path early by parents who encouraged me with supplies and lessons and the words, “Make a mess,” I entered The University of Texas at Austin where I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a minor in Art History.  Immersion in that turpentine infused air at the University filled me with wonder and excitement imagining a life spent in the pursuit of art and so far, I have done just that.  Early on one of my teachers proclaimed that I should change my major, I didn’t.  This comment continues to remind me that I could have made another decision and have been set on a different path.  Much like the poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, I looked down one road as far as I could l until it bent in the undergrowth and choose the one that was grassy and wanted wear, the path of the artist.  It helped me greatly to have grown up in a family of entrepreneurs who had created businesses and did not hear the word no lightly.  I was surrounded by sales minded people who could sell anything and did, funerals, and weddings not-withstanding.

Paint-spattered days started it all in 1987 as I hand-painted dozens of T shirts daily with Texas wildflowers.  My first customer was called Something Different in Fredericksburg, Texas.  My Mother, Betsy and I hand delivered the T shirt order and managed to squeeze in a lovely lady’s lunch at the Peach Tree Restaurant.  Leaving just in time to pick up our daughters from school, my mother and I returned home to Seguin that day receiving a call that the entire order of shirts had sold out in a few hours, thus starting my hand-painted T shirt business in earnest. Four years and so much paint flinging later, I decided to find a silk-screener. We still sell our T shirts, but walking through doors as they opened, I have added Cloisonne, Glass, and Ceramic ornaments, as well as custom tea towels to our offerings.

So much has filled the intervening years including retail and wholesale markets all over the country such as The PGA Merchandise Show in Florida, those two little daughters growing up and coming into the business with me, trips to China with our daughter Maggie to find our suppliers, and visits with our customers all over the country.  Such fun and challenges we have had, but never giving up even when the challenges made things hard, believing that problems make you rethink and come up with better solutions.  Hard times more than smooth are what make a business strong.

I celebrate the journey that I am still on and look forward to great challenges ahead and by the way, thank you for coming along for the ride.

- Kitty Keller