Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Greene Reed.
Hi Sarah Greene, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve had a long and wandering career path. My first job was with a fashion designer in high school. I learned the ins and outs of clothing fabrication and got to work in her cool boutique. I focused on visual art early, attending the North Carolina School of the Arts, an arts boarding school, during my junior and senior years of high school. From there, I went on to attend the Rhode Island School of Design for college. After that, I wound up working in New York as a commercial photographer. I soon realized that my heart wasn’t in that industry so I modeled and worked retail for a bit. After a while, I pivoted and decided to become an antique dealer. I attended a graduate program in American Decorative and Fine Arts at Sotheby’s auction house in New York. And, after all of that, I decided I was more interested in modern art than antiques. Ha ha, the best laid plans ….. This revelation led me to a job with a contemporary art gallery in Houston, Texas. Once ensconced in the fine arts scene there I worked for several galleries and a non-profit exhibition space, the Houston Center for Photography. I got married in 2000 and it was right in the middle of the dot com boom. I wanted in! I studied up and learned enough to become a recruiter for a creative staffing company. My job was to place graphic and web designers into positions. I worked on and off there for a few years before the siren call of fine arts lured me back. I decided to attend grad school for photography & digital media. At this point, I got really involved in making digital collages. I had representation by galleries all over the country and I found my artwork in both museum and corporate collections. Some even made it to a few TV shows and movies! I made digital collages for about a decade and then burned out. In the ensuing years, I wore many hats: I was a prop stylist for photo shoots, I was a housewares buyer for a vintage store, I was the exhibitions coordinator at Arthouse (which is now The Contemporary museum) in Austin, I taught Photoshop, I became a yoga teacher, I started a custom travel business as well as a women’s retreat company called Head West Retreats, you name it … I did it. About ten years ago, I trained to become a wedding officiant. I performed over 500 weddings in 5 years! It was nuts. That led me to buy an old church in Georgetown, Texas to turn into a wedding and event space called Pearl Snap Hall. I loved renovating that – I literally pulled the sheetrock off the walls myself. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into that place. We sold Pearl Snap Hall this past summer and now have invested in rental real estate in Marfa, Texas and Rockland, Maine. After we purchased the Marfa place, we found out that it was the house that Rock Hudson lived in while he was filming the movie Giant! Fixing up and decorating old houses is one of my favorite things to do. In 2017 an “Inktober” drawing challenge spurred me on to try drawing for the first time in decades. I let myself use oil pastels and I was hooked! This started a new creative period for me. I had a few exhibitions of this work, mainly botanicals, and then started a business drawing wedding bouquets. I was also painting larger fine art paintings. And, most recently, I have started a company called Demolition Derby Hats. I make upcycled hats inspired by my May 2022 trip to the Kentucky Derby. I’ve always wanted to go to the derby, it was a bucket list item for me. We were supposed to go for our 20th wedding anniversary in 2020 but covid had other plans. So, I finally got to go this spring. And the hats were marvelous! When I returned home, I decided that I wanted to make hats but I wanted to challenge myself by only using recycled materials since most Derby hats get worn once and then tossed. I get a lot of supplies from Austin Creative Reuse. I feel like this is a much more sustainable and fun way to creatively express yourself! I plan to keep making hats, keep painting, continue doing decorating projects, and travel as much as I can. In fact, I’m launching a low-key decorating business where clients can pay me by the room or by the hour to advise them on what they can keep, what they should lose, and what they should purchase. Basically, I’m holding their hand to help them decorate. I’ve already done this a few times and it has been hugely successful. On top of this, I’m a mother of a teenage daughter. It’s a very busy life!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not necessarily been smooth but I have found that doors open up if you are willing to take a leap. The struggles I have faced are the insecurities that come with change and letting something go that is not working for me. My father was a professor at the same university for 30 years so his career path looks VERY different from mine. It was a little nerve-wracking doing so many things, sometimes I wished that I just had an obvious career path. But, looking back, I can genuinely say that I know a little about a lot of things and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I touched on my artistic pursuits. I am basically a jack of all trades creatively. I draw and paint. I do some graphic design. I just designed an album cover for a friend. I’ve had my collages animated to create a music video. I consult with people all of the time about their houses and environments. I specialize in color consultation and interior decorating. And, most recently, I started making HATS! I think what sets me apart is my enthusiasm and willingness to try things. I played drums in a punk band for years. I didn’t originally know how to play drums but I was super excited and convinced them to let me try. My band later opened for Joan Jett. Sometimes you just have to go for it! I’m not that afraid to fail. What I’m most proud of is my flexibility and my people skills. Maybe it’s the old recruiter in me but I’m constantly putting people together. I am reluctant to use the word ‘networking’ but there is such a wealth of talent and creativity within my circle. I love that I am a connector.
What matters most to you?
What matters to me most is freedom and creativity. I want to live life on my terms. My life might not look entirely conventional but there are conventional elements. I’ve managed to stay married for 22 years and raise a kid in one place. But, you’ll find me traveling whenever I can. I seek inspiration from new experiences and seeing the world. I always look for a fun way to do things. My husband and I have a party each New Year’s Day called Cheetos, Tito’s & Speedos. We have people over in the morning for Cheetos and breakfast tacos, we set up a Bloody Mary bar with Tito’s vodka, and then we go down the hill to Barton Springs and have a riotous Speedo costume contest (we have trophies) and all jump in for a polar bear plunge. It’s become legendary. Similarly, we have a Kentucky Derby party called the Kin-tucky Derby (we live on Kinney Ave.) where we serve mint juleps and pimento cheese sandwiches and have 2-person horse races down the street (think two people under a sheet). Last year it turned into a spontaneous parade where I was the Grand Marshall and got to sit in the back of someone’s convertible. For my 50th birthday in August, I had a Club MTV-themed costume birthday party complete with projected 1980s music videos, a Nagel Duran Duran cake, a surprise drag queen performance from Extragrams, and my daughter’s band, Garfunkopop, playing a few songs. Why not upgrade the fun in life?!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://sarahgreenereed.com/
- Instagram: sarahgreenereed
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahgreenereedart/
Image Credits
Sarah Greene Reed
