We were lucky to catch up with Kirsten Hellmer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kirsten, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I feel like I stumbled onto this whole career/life path I’ve created, if I’m being honest. I was a corporate data analyst who was just completely bored with life. I checked out a local makerspace (i3Detroit), because they had classes to learn their CNC machine. I had loved running the CNC machines in high school and my dad was a tool and die maker, so it was kind of in my blood, except it wasn’t. I didn’t like learning the G code required and had almost given up and gone back to my boring life. Someone at the makerspace approached me and told me it sounded like I could do what I wanted to do on the lasers. I had never even heard of a laser cutter at this point (2015).
I got trained on the lasers and started making stuff on them right away. At first, it was little coasters, key chains, etc. for friends/family. Over time, I started making some wall art, finding my niche, while still working full time as a data analyst. Once I started making my maps, that was all she wrote. Business exploded and I was able to leave corporate (hopefully) for good! Actually, I always said it would never be a business, and then when it became a business, I said I’d never do it full time, but here we are, with five years of full time under my belt now.
I LOVE what I do and I’m so extremely lucky to feel that way because I’ve been on the other side. I guess the way I really found my purpose was by continuing to explore new skills, even as an adult. People get so lost in their day to day, picking up kids, going to work etc. You never know when that evening class, that you didn’t really feel like going to because there was a snowstorm could just change your entire life!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My current focus is layered art. Whether it’s bathymetric maps or layered shapes (think outline of an animal with a whole scene tucked into it), I’m amazed by all of it. It’s so special to me because I get to make art that people will have on their walls for years. I’ve even had some people say the pieces will be heirlooms and passed on to their children, and I’m so honored that they chose my work to have in the family. The layered art is really unique because there’s really no limits on what I can do with it. If you have an idea, I can help you bring that to life. The maps are fully customizable, so each one can be completely unique and special to you. I often mark an address special to the customer, making that map something that is just for them and their family.
I’ve never been much of person for doing the “drops” of new products and admittedly, I’m awful at sending out marketing emails, but one really exciting thing I’m working on is a map of the New York Harbor that will be in a lighthouse museum as an educational tool. I’ve never pictured my work to be in a museum so I’m really excited for that opportunity. Additionally, I have recently “expanded” into two new realms, golf courses and ski resort trail maps. I grew up as a lifelong snowboarder, so the trail maps are particularly exciting for me. Follow me on all social media to stay up to date with new products!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think a major skill that helped me was my business background. I went to school for marketing and market research and while I didn’t 100% know what I was going to use those degrees for, in a roundabout way they have helped me so much. Being able to treat my art not just like art but like a business as well, has really helped me be successful and reach the right people.
Another quality that I tell everyone to develop is that you can’t be married to your ideas. If a design isn’t selling at all, it doesn’t matter how much I like it, if I can’t morph it into something else, I kill it. You have to be aware enough of your sales to know when to stop putting effort into one thing and pivot to another.
My pure incapability to think I can’t do something has also helped me tremendously. I grew up with hardworking parents, and my father was very DIY/Mr. Fix It. He passed that on to me, almost to a fault. I tend to just dive in, figure things out, and make it work, and that’s exactly what I did with my business. Nine years ago, I didn’t even know what a laser cutter was. Now I have an industrial one in my garage that I run daily and have an entire business based off of. When people ask me how I started all of this, I always respond with I don’t really know, I kind of dove in head first. I decided I was going to make it work, so I did. Blind faith in myself? Maybe.
If you’re just starting out, do some research on marketing, especially social media. There’s a plethora of information on the internet about dos and don’ts and using social media as a tool can really help expand your business. There’s quite a bit of free marketing you can do on there, by posting in groups, etc. Also, don’t be married to your ideas. It’s ok to fail. I had an entire knitting business I was “running” before I did this. I put running in quotes because it wasn’t very successful. Once I found the lasers, it kind of fell off and my focus changed, but it’s completely ok to fail and change your business entirely. You can’t be afraid to fail, just make sure you get back up again.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
The people at my makerspace when I was a part of it were absolutely the most important people that helped me build my skills. Not only did they train me on the lasers, they taught me how to use the other tools I needed to use. I didn’t know how to use a router or how to make frames, but my friend Dan spent an evening teaching me how, and I still make those frames for every map today. Other members would walk by and have ideas on how to improve what I was making in that moment, of which most I implemented. Having a group of people who all have different ideas is really a wonderful tool that I truly miss since moving all of my work to my garage (but we moved out of state, so I had to!). You’ll meet the most interesting people at makerspaces and should absolutely check them out if you have one near you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fromtreetohome.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/fromtreetohome
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/fromtreetohome
- Other: www.fromtreetohome.etsy.com
