Meet Britt Kilpatrick

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Britt Kilpatrick. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Britt below.

Britt, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
In my line of work as a graphic designer the need for creativity is high. My main focus as a designer is with print work, mainly stationery, invitations, and greeting cards.
Each year I put out a hand illustrated calendar with a different theme. I absolutely love doing this as it fulfils my artist itch and brings smiles to the faces of those who receive one.
This year’s theme was “make your own monster” where the owner of the calendar gets to color in the illustrated monster each month and add googly eyes to make it silly.
Every year I struggle finding inspiration and creativity for this project. I’ve found that this is harder the closer I get to my deadline of the new year.
This year I’ve done things differently, I’ve kept this project on the forefront of my mind and already have a 2024 theme and started the layout process and it’s not even fall yet!
I’ve found that when I come up with a creative idea, I write it down immediately whether it’s a sketch, a word, a quote, if it’s in my brain and it has the potential to be something, I write it down.
I’ve come across post-it notes with one word like “naked cat” and I instantly remember a drawing I wanted to do, or a calendar theme I was thinking of. Sometimes I’ll find that post-it note and I’m like, “what in the heck is this about?” but then maybe days later, it’ll resurface to my brain.
My artistic style is more cartoonlike with an emphasis on vintage style and humor. I like to keep my art light-hearted, fun, and something that someone will want to look at again and again.
I draw a lot of my inspiration from vintage illustrations from the 50’s and 60’s but with a modern twist.
I’ve found that my creativity is super boosted when I’m around other creative people and places. Watching someone do art, visiting an art museum, looking through old magazines, or my favorite, visiting antique malls, can all inspire something creative you didn’t know was there.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I run two stationery companies. Ruby Red Paper focuses on standard stationery items, greeting cards, stickers, notebooks, calendars, etc. Bright-Eyed Birdie focuses on invitations for all events including birthdays, weddings, showers, and more. I offer print options and digital options for those who like the DIY option of printing themselves.
My style is fun and light-hearted with a vintage style.
I base a lot of my greeting cards and stickers on cartoons from my childhood. For my invitations, I always try to think of themes or ideas that I would love to have for a wedding or party. I love the idea of getting creative with invitations where there is a unique twist for the guest receiving them. Something like having a tear away RSVP, or folding or opening an invitation in just the right way to make it interactive.
I got into graphic design a little by accident. 12 years ago I was hired at a graphics shop in the production department doing car wraps, business signs, and a lot of vinyl weeding. After about 3 weeks there, they had one of their graphic designers leave the company. They knew I was an artist and they asked if I had any interest in learning graphic design. Immediately I said “YES!”. They trained me over the next year and I’ve been doing it ever since.
My main focus now is on the print side of things but I still love doing branding and creative work, making flyers, and designs for miscellaneous projects.

In addition to graphic design, I also co-host a podcast called SkeleTales. This has nothing to do with graphic design but is creative in the sense that we are story-tellers sharing true tales about things strange, unusual and paranormal.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Remaining open minded. A path may open in your life that may seem overwhelming and challenging, don’t turn away because something might be hard, you’ll never know unless you try. I was certainly lucky getting offered the graphics job but if I’d said no because it was going to be too hard (and learning was hard), my life would look very different than it is now.
When my co-host for the podcast Alissa asked if I wanted to start this project with her, my initial reaction was “hell no!” but then I realized it was just because I was scared and that I could do this so we did and it’s been growing steadily ever since.

2. Don’t give up. You will want to a million times trust me. If it is something you’re truly passionate about and want to pursue, keep at it! If it’s burn out, time issues, stress, marketing, sleeplessness, did I mention time and lack of it? These are all things that are challenging but can be worked through. It’s about finding that balance where you can live your passion and still function happily.

3. Never stop learning. There have been many many times with art or a graphic design that a project has come my way that I just don’t know how to do. Instead of saying “no, I can’t do this because don’t know how” I say “I don’t know how, but I’m going to learn” and I’ve grown and become better because of this.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Honestly, I feel overwhelmed a lot. I have a tendency to fill my plate too full with projects. One of my favorite parts about running my own business is having the flexibility to work the hours that I want. What ends up happening is that I end up working hours I don’t, mainly late at night when I’m tired.
My advice and current strategy is to set a daily goal list.
First on the list is are the priority projects, ones that absolutely have to get done ASAP.
Then the projects that need to get done but maybe not as urgently as the first projects.
Eventually the list will get done and hopefully the clients are happy and you’re not too sleep deprived.
I learned several years ago that most clients can be very understanding. If you know you’re going to be late on a project, communicating with them immediately to explain this is very helpful.

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