We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kinsey Hotchkiss a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kinsey, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
This can be a really hard thing to deal with when being a creative who also runs their own business. When you’re running your own business, it can be hard to play all the roles, such as a marketing expert, the accountant, the project manager, etc, all while you really want to be doing the fun part of creating the art and enjoying the process. This and a lot of other factors can really hurt your creativity.
For me, a lot of my inspiration and creativity comes from being outside, traveling, mountains, the desert, and the ocean. Whenever I find I am lacking creativity, I like to plan a little adventure or maybe even a big road trip. I find that getting outside, having a change of scenery, or going to exploring new places can really help bring back that creative spark.
If I can’t get away on a little adventure, I find using my sketchbook really helps. My sketchbook is filled with artwork that is just for me, meaning I can open up a page and create anything I want, not caring about how good or bad it looks in my terms. I think this is a great exercise for anyone that needs to get that creative spark back. It’s quite an awesome domino affect when you get that pen to paper and just see where it leads or two.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am Kinsey, the Illustrator, Artist & Graphic Designer behind Kinsey H. Designs. I started Kinsey H. Designs when I was living in Southern California back in 2017. Since then I’ve been so fortunate to work with some amazing clients on some really rad projects. These range from music artist, such as Rebelution and Shwayze, to surf brands like Channel Islands Surfboards, and even doing live mural paintings at festivals around the country.
I specialize in mainly logo and branding work, custom illustrations, label & package design, as well as paintings, murals, and even custom tattoo designs. My work definitely has a certain style – really minimalist, earthy, outdoor & adventure driven, hoping to inspire people to get out and explore a bit more.
You can find all my work either on my website – www.kinseyhdesigns.com – or my Instagram – @kinsey.h.designs
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?
I think the first important learning aspect of my whole design and career process was definitely just trying new things. I think my line of work is really specific because I have this sort of different art style, and I think that wouldn’t have developed the way I did if I hadn’t tried new things new styles, getting inspired and exploring.
Then another huge aspect of my art career has been dedication to just create every day whether it looks good or bad, or if I’m gonna share with the world or I wanna keep it for myself, I think just creating every day and getting inspiration is really, really important. I think the first important learning aspect of my whole design and career process was definitely just trying to things.
Lastly, I think just enjoying the process and making sure you’re having fun. I think a lot of people, including myself, become a creative because making art brings a lot of joy, so if you’re trying to run your business or get people to see your work, but it’s driving you crazy, then it’s probably time to switch things up and kind of reassess. Although running your own art business is a ton of work, it should be super rewarding and you should definitely enjoy the process.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
I love this question because I really believe a simple line my dad told me when I was younger has shaped my whole life, career, and business.
Way back when I was younger I couldn’t really wrap my head around the idea that people went to a 9 to 5 job that they absolutely hated and spent almost 30 or 40 years or life doing the same thing every day when they’re miserable. Now I know this doesn’t apply to everyone with a 9 to 5 and I don’t wanna sound mean, but to me, I felt like there was way more to life than sitting in her office and spending almost half your life there. When I was completely baffled by this idea growing up, my dad told me a very simple line that stuck with me my whole life.
He said –
” Kinsey, it’s really simple, if there’s something you don’t like in your life just change it”
Now I know that sounds way easier to do and in most situations is really not an easy task. But this one simple line he said to me when I was younger, gave me the 110% confidence boost to make a life, career, and living off of something I genuinely enjoy doing and being able to enjoy my life while doing it. Although it took me quite some time to get to where I am with my business, I knew through the process that in the back of my head that if I didn’t like something I can change it. And lastly I really really believe that anyone can do this and build a life that they want, its not easy by any means and takes time but you really can change thing if you don’t like them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kinseyhdesigns.com/
- Instagram: @kinsey.h.designs
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinseyhotchkiss/
