We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Antonia & Nate Campanella & Cotterman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Antonia & Nate below.
Antonia & Nate, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
Our generosity comes from how well we have been treated and supported through our career and life personally and professionally.
We have been surrounded by people, in and out of our families,generous with their time, knowledge, homes and more. People generous to us and our children even our dog! Going out of their ways to show up, pitch in, and lift us up.
The best way I can think to show appreciation is to show others the same grace & kindness.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Antonia, I am a Maker, Mother & Advocate for the Handmade! I lead Marketing, Design & Sales for Nate Cotterman Glass. I have Olra Creative, a creative consultancy working with small businesses and artists. I help them articulate themselves authentically & efficiently.
I am Nate Cotterman, Designer & Maker of Nate Cotterman Glass. I operate a small batch glass company that specializes in handblown Barware Lighting & Design Accents
2.5 years ago we relocated to Northeast Ohio and set up shop in a 3400 sqft barn turned studio. We are excited to be back in the community where it all began.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The willingness to work hard, adapt and do it yourself if you can!
Growth is not easy, it takes sacrifice, hard work, getting up early, staying up late and doing things you don’t want to do, or are less glamorous parts of the process.
You have to be able to adapt to life’s changes, Ever since Covid, we have had to be open and mindful to the reality that anything can change drastically at any point and how can we adapt accordingly.
The ability to be able to build things you need yourself, or take your own photos or build your website or repair equipment etc, can really make the difference in the amount of money you are spending or saving.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Currently Nate and I have the challenge of having a young child in addition to our school age child. It is a challenge to coordinate child watch during trade show opportunities or taking them with us. We recognize this is a temporary part, and it can seem overwhelming to have both, a career and raise a family- but if we pace ourselves financially and work together it is pretty cool to share our growth with them and show them how we work to support ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.natecotterman.com www.olracreative.com
- Instagram: @natecotterman @olra_creative
Image Credits
Alicia Maslar
