Etsy Love Stories: Paulandkatestudio

PlumeAdore

Story by PlumeAdore

Published on Feb 02, 2010

Photo by paulandkatestudio

There’s a wealth of stories on Etsy, but the ones that truly epitomize the lifestyle of collaboration are the Etsy love stories. Paul Klassett and Kate Archie of paulandkatestudio answered a few questions for Justine of PlumeAdore as we prepare the rose petals and champagne this February.

Tell us about yourselves!
Paul and I have been together for 16 years and recently celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We met in Washington, D.C., moved to Seattle, and now are living in Richmond, VA. We love to travel and try to leave the country once a year. We have two cats, four nieces, and one nephew.

How long have you both been crafting?
Paul and I have both been interested in art our whole lives. Paul studied photography at the Corcoran School in D.C. and I studied photography at American University. When we moved to Seattle, Paul became more interested in painting and ceramics while I stayed in the darkroom. In Richmond, Paul’s enthusiasm for ceramics finally got me hooked as well. We enjoy doing our own thing in addition to producing collaborative works.

How did you hear about Etsy?
We heard about Etsy for the first time several years ago. A woman I work with opened an Etsy shop, beeskneesstudio, and has been very successful. We had been talking about selling our work and Etsy seemed like the perfect place to start.

Did you open your Etsy shop together?
We opened the shop together. The hardest part was figuring out a name. Really. I think we talked about it for three months but could not agree on anything that was catchy and captured the feel of our work. Finally, enough was enough, and we settled on Paul and Kate Studio. Not very imaginative, but I have a feeling we would still be talking about a name if we hadn’t just done it.

Does either person have a day job?
We both have day jobs — Paul is a picture framer and I am a graphic designer. We are lucky that they are regular 9-5 jobs. We work on ceramics in the evenings and on weekends. Some mornings I come downstairs to find Paul drinking his morning coffee, listening to the morning news, and pinching a pot.

What duties does each partner take with your shop?
As I am writing this you might be able to guess that I am more responsible for the marketing/business end of things. We both create for the shop, but Paul is much more productive than I am. Paul helps with the photography, pricing, and listings, but I handle most of the correspondence and shipping.

What’s the best part about working together?
The best part is we work well as a team. We have different strengths and processes and often can give the other a new perspective. When one of us is stuck or in a rut the other’s enthusiasm and creativity pulls us through. It is also a plus that Paul enjoys starting projects and I enjoy finishing them.

Anything difficult about working as a team?
The pros far outweigh the cons, but we do occasionally have different opinions about how to price things, what we should be making, and what colors to use. Nothing arm wrestling can’t settle.

How do you keep your business and personal life separate?
We don’t. It is all one glorious mess.

What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
We don’t have any Valentine’s plans yet. We will probably go out for sushi. I pretend Valentine’s Day is not worth acknowledging, but Paul knows better than to ignore it.

What are your Etsy goals for the near future?
Paul has set his goal for the year to create at least 200 ceramic pieces. Our Etsy goals for the near future are to attract more views and increase sales. We still have much to learn about how to get the most out of Etsy — descriptions, tagging, pricing, marketing, pretty much everything, is a learning process at this point. We have had a lot of fun getting to this point and are looking forward to whatever is around the corner.

Thanks to Paul and Kate for sharing their story.
You can see more of Paul and Kate Studio creations below.

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