282 | From Corporate Product Designer to Intentional Business Owner with Amy Frazer, Keller Design Co

If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that one of my mantras is that slow, steady growth is how strong businesses are built. Well, they are also built with intentionality, connectivity, and care, which today's guest is a wonderful example of.

Amy Frazer is an author, illustrator and the founder of Keller Design Co, where she strives to empower you to make modern memories through craft, stationery, embroidery kits, and artful gifts to help you share stories, make connections, and communicate with simple, honest messages. Keller Design Co. helps customers connect with those they love and find connections to their own creativity.

On today's episode, Amy is sharing how 20 years in the corporate world designing products for brands like Nike, Old Navy, Starbucks, and Target! Those experiences truly helped shape how she runs Keller Design Co. Amy candidly discusses how personal loss and seasons of overwhelm caused her to push pause and take better care of herself. She talks about how community, connection, and continuing to put in the work motivated her to keep going.

Today's episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library, where we house all of my free workshops in one place. This includes my Delegating Masterclass, my How to Know If Wholesale is Right for You class and my Booth Blueprint Class for anyone wanting to exhibit at wholesale trade shows, I've got some new things that we'll be adding soon. To get instant access to this rich resource library, head to prooftoproduct.com/resources.

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From Corporate Product Development to Small Business Owner

Amy started off our conversation with one of her favorite quotes and it is one we came to time and time again throughout our interview.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

— Steve Jobs

When Amy first got started in her career, she worked at brands like Nike, Old Navy, Starbucks, and Target providing support in product development and manufacturing. Despite being hired on as an illustrator, Amy was offered the opportunity to learn about the production process for domestic and overseas manufacturing.

In those roles, she still found herself passionate about illustration and brought it into the work she did. It’s no secret that these roles helped prepare her for her decision to step into the role of small business owner and product maker in 2015. Through the experiences she had in corporate culture, she took value in understanding how to structure her business and her product types.

Being Intentional in Her Work and Life

After a few years in business on her own, Amy attended Papercamp. This was in 2020 while preparing for the launch of her book, Art Makers: Empowered Embroidery when the pandemic struck. During this chaotic time, Amy was still pursuing her product development and book launch, when her dad got sick with COVID. Unfortunately, he didn’t recover and Amy’s dad passed away within four days of her book launch.

While so many things were going on in her life and business, Amy needed time to grieve. She became intentional with her time—which ultimately led to a few changes in her business and products.

text graphic "I really want to not just make money fro products, but be able to channel my feelings, thoughts, and ideas into products that can help other people reach out to their friends and family when they are going through something that's hard.

Collaboration, Connection & Intention with Keller and Friends

If I could describe Amy in one word, it would be connectivity.

Amy is a connector of people and always an encouragement of collaboration. This is ultimately what helped build Keller and Friends. Keller and Friends is a collaboration between Amy and, well, her friends. The goal is to share each friends’ unique voice and perspective with the world through words and images.

Each collaborator is compensated for their art, then a percentage of sales of their item goes to a charity of their choice. Early in her career, Amy was living in New York when 9/11 happened. That experience led her to give back.

Knowing What You Need and Being Intentional

Two years after Amy attended Paper Camp, she exhibited at Noted. She was committed to bringing Keller to life. She showed up, was proud of what she brought to the show, but definitely overcommitted.

There were hours of hard work that went into it that she wasn’t aware she would be putting in. The experience was exhausting, but she has so much support from the industry and our Proof to Product community.

text graphic: "When you get to a tradeshow and everything is set up, you can take a step back to appreciate what you've done to get there. It's just like 'yeah, I did this.' I think it's okay to feel that and be proud."

After the show, she was on a high. She was getting orders out and following up with buyers. Additionally, she’d committed to teaching a workshop soon after, yet wasn’t feeling secure about it. She was overwhelmed with her work and the stress she was putting on herself that she broke down and pulled out—something she wasn’t excited about. The organizers were so kind and understanding; once that weight was lifted off of her, she felt like she could get through it all.

Amy knew what she could handle and spoke up for herself. She was so intentional about it every step of the way.

In Conclusion,

From the start of Amy’s career, she’s been intentional and true to herself. As you begin to take steps towards your goals, make sure you’re looking to it with intentionality like Amy.

The quote from Steve Jobs she referenced at the beginning of the episode continues to guide her through her life’s journey. You have to keep trusting and doing the next right thing in hopes that one day, all the dots will connect.

Quick Recap:

Here is a quick recap of all the links shared in this episode:

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MEET AMY

As time passes, our memories of a time and place change a bit and get hazy. We think about the people we’ve loved the connections we’ve made. When I think about how and where Keller started, my earliest memories go back to making things with my granny. I vaguely remember a few things when I was very, very young at my grandparents’ house on River Road in Cincinnati. The memories are soft and fuzzy. But after my grandpa passed away from a heart attack while still fairly young, granny moved in with us. And that is where most of my early making memories come from.

Keller Design Co. empowers you to make modern memories through craft. My stationery, embroidery kits and artful gifts help you share stories, make connections and communicate with simple honest messages. Keller helps customers connect with those they love and find connections to their own creativity.

CONNECT WITH AMY

WEBSITE: KellerDesignCo.com | INSTAGRAM: @kellerdesignco | TIKTOK: @kellerdesignco | PINTEREST: @KellerDesignCo | LINKEDIN: @amylfrazer

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct