ABC Collection Release Date + Return to the Blog Era where newsletters > doomscrolling

Hi friends,

Let’s talk about time. More specifically—how we use the teeny tiny pockets of it between the big stuff: work, parenting, dinner, laundry, grocery runs. These days, I don’t get hours of creative flow or uninterrupted reading. I get minutes. And those minutes? I want to spend them doing things that fill me up, not drain me.  

Which is why…social media and I are on a break.

Honestly? The scroll isn’t serving me. Do you feel the same? It’s become noise and stress and influence-y takes. And I’m craving something slower, more intentional. 

Remember the heyday of blogs? Designlovefest circa 2010? Designsponge?  Refreshing your favorite page to see what your favorite creative just posted?  I want that feeling back. Newsletters/substack are the new blog, and I’m fully on board.

This space—my every-other Tuesday newsletter—is how I want to show up. It’s where I get to talk to you directly, share what’s inspiring me, and give you peeks into the studio (no algorithm involved). No pressure to perform. Just connection, sneak peaks, and a little bit of creative energy.

If you’re new here: welcome. 

Come along for a behind-the-scenes look and a few discounts along the way, algorithm-free.  If this isn’t your thing? Feel free to scroll down and tap unsubscribe. Good studio vibes only.  We are in our new blog era.

And of course, I’ll still technically be on social (I mean, I’m a business after all), but what you’ll see there is mostly a recycled version of this email. This space is the OG stuff.

Inside My Studio

The ABC 123 + Swatch Collections are finally launching next Wednesday!  When they debut, I'll be sending a special discount code for subscribers. 🎉 I’ve been quietly editing these for weeks—tweaking colors, cleaning up scans, making sure not a single dust speck makes it into your print or digital download. 

The ABC 123 series was inspired by Bonnie learning to count (she’s up to 40 now, double-counting thirteen like a true original). I wanted art that marked the moment, that felt playful and fresh—but also something I wouldn’t mind seeing on my walls 100x a day.

P.S. I may be launching products along with prints for the ABC123 collection.  Samples are arriving this week and I'm SO excited.

And if you could peek inside my brain right now, it’d be full circus. I’ve got a tomato-themed tablecloth brewing (thanks, farmers market bounty), and a romantasy-inspired idea I’ve been sitting on for a year. Think: bookish tropes like one of my favs, only one bed. If it works out, you’ll see it this fall.

Also coming soon: more nursery/playroom prints because apparently I’m incapable of operating on a single idea at a time.

What I'm Cooking

 Wishbone Kitchen’s cookbook is our house favorite + girlfriends favorite right now. Highlights we made from the past week:

• Crab Cocktail Gazpacho – amazing fresh, less so post-fridge. Blend and serve immediately versus following the recommendation to let it hang out in the fridg
• Pie Sundae – you need this in your life.
  
• Green Michelada – strain it for a drink, or keep it chunky as salsa. Meredith doesn’t mention straining it for a drink buttttt you should.
  

We're gearing up for a friends’ trip and our family is on snack duty. Plans are forming for elevated chicken nuggets: buffalo-style for adults, ketchup-friendly for the kiddos. Full snack menu coming in the next newsletter + results to see if you want to replicate it for your next summer bash.

Creative Sparks

Speaking of newsletters and taking things slow, here are some of my favorite free subscriptions.

• BR&B Friday Faves – My Libby holds are maxed out thanks to this one.
  
• Laurie Anne Art – for her dreamy Arizona cabin updates.
  
• Lucy Reiser – another artist I adore for slow, thoughtful updates.
  

Also: I splurged on the Hotel Lobby “Hamptons”candle and I regret nothing. It’s like coastal grandmother meets beachside air and hydrangeas. Fresh, floral, and not even a little stuffy or perfume-y.  I light it when working in my studio and it immediately makes me feel 3x fancier.

What I'm Reading

 I started reading two books at once like a complete chaos gremlin but eventually came to my senses to tackle one at a time:

• First Time Caller  – slow start, but totally hooked me about 20% in.  I’m glad I stuck with it - 4.5/5 stars.  If you like the grumpy-sunshine trope, this one is for you.
  
• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry – giving me Evelyn Hugo vibes in the best way. 5 stars for being able to make me both laugh and cry. 
• Listening to the Anxious Generation- can you tell I’m becoming more and more into newsletters over social?
• I just started Abby Jimenez/s latest, Say You'll Remember Me. and purchased Ali Hazelwood's latest Problematic Summer Romance due to the rave reviews AND being set in Italy.

What's Next

Tomato sketches. Summer tablecloths. Maybe a holiday one too (yes, I might be designing two tablecloths this year—send help). Also dreaming of my romantasy-themed collection and gearing up for more nursery playroom art.

Basically: my brain’s a circus, and you’ve got a front row seat.

Until next time,
Katie