Our Girl Crush this week---
Kat,
Nomad West Owner
Tell us a Little More about yourself!
My
name is Kat Brackett, I am from Santa Cruz, Ca now living in San Diego,
Ca. I am a Graphic Designer turned Jewelry Designer, but still
utilizing my degree for my business, which is awesome because I can do
pretty much all of it on my own!
I am the woman behind the Nomad West machine ;) and have to say I love every minute of it.
What are your three favorite eco-friendly products?
Right
now my current obsession is Mrs. Meyers basil hand soap and multi
surface cleaner. They clean and leave the most amazing scent leaving you
with an uplifting feel.
Dr. Bronners 18 use Castille soap
with hemp seed oil. its out of this world, you can wash your body, face,
hair etc with it as well as our house…your pets and your food too! it
comes its some amazing fragrances too. I love stuff that smells good ;)
who doesn’t?!
Method brand is amazing too, completely derived from plants! and also smell amazing ;)
What was the first step you took to a more eco- friendly lifestyle?
I have always been about recycling, first and foremost…
and
if I care about what I put inside my body…then I should care about
everything else around me just as much, from water to clothing to my
living environment inside and outside.
I made a diet change
about 5 years ago…and haven’t looked back. I made the switch to Organic
foods, no more processed foods which helped me to lose weight and also a
big change in my physical appearance as well as mental health.
I
also made the switch to using recycled and up cycled materials for my
business making it more affordable to continue on with a health
conscious outlook on life as we contribute to our community physically
and financially.
What is one way that our audience can take the first step toward an eco-friendly lifestyle?
If
you care about what you put in your body, then you should care about
the rest of the environment and what goes into it. from the make up you
use to the products you use in your home. Go Green! Go Plant! look for
sustainably made and sourced products to help keep yourself and the
environment around you. Start there and it will translate into the rest
of the world.
Can you tell us how you got started in your blog?
I
used to make jewelry as a kid and sort of trailed away from it as I got
older, but still always had a jewelry obsession. I’ve always been
mechanical in a way and love to make / build things. With a passion for
the arts I went to school for Graphic Design and after graduating with a
degree in Graphic design I moved to San Diego where I landed a designer
job with a body jewelry manufacturer! it was a dream job, until the
company closed its doors three months later.
I was left without a job and needed something fast. I looked for more
design jobs but ended up looking for anything I could find. I
interviewed with a 40k sq ft Bead store in town and got a sales
position there. After a few months of being there I learned another gal
there was working as a production artist for a local jewelry designer
and decided to look for jobs on craigslist to see if there were more
jobs out there like it, and there was! all the while I was starting to
get back into making jewelry for myself and teaching wire wrapping
classes there. I found a job with a local jewelry designer and was hired
on full time to sit in an office with a few other girls to make/copy
the designers pieces for orders for stores. I decided while working
there that I could totally do this! I started designing pieces at home
and making stuff on the side and a year later my husband and I moved
back to Santa cruz where we are both from, I started looking for another
jewelry designer job and found one with the amazing Haute Bride out of
Los Gatos. I was hired on part time which eventually lead to full time,
and from there I made jewelry all day long for about 5 years, in which I
met other gals who sold their jewelry at local events. They helped me
to get started selling locally which since 2009 has turned into an
almost full time business with emphasis on Wholesale, We now have 12
retailers in California and Washington! We moved back to San diego just 2
months ago…and are continuing to grow.
What is the best piece of business/blogging advice you ever received?
Be
true to yourself. There are many people out there who will tell you
what to do even without asking if you want their advice. Just go with
your gut, you may fall down….but you’ll get back up if you want it that
bad. Go with the trends but make them your own, and always be you.
What advice would you give to a new blogger?
Keep
going! get yourself in a routine…and stick to it, if it doesn’t work
then research other ways to help yourself get out there and network with
as many people as you can. Don’t be afraid to ask for help EVER!
Kat's beautiful jewelry! We are OBSESSED!
Welcome to our GIRL GANG Kat!
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