Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Deedy.
Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Aside from flying into space to be an astronaut or traversing the wadis living the life of an Egyptologist, my earliest love was art. I didn’t know until I was older how it would manifest, but I knew it was what made me happiest. While I spent my free time drawing, I was also tailing my mom as she built her profession in storytelling and as a children’s book author. Some of my favorite memories involved festivals and libraries filled with tall tales, and by the time I was in college, my love of stories and art pulled me to illustration.
After graduating from Agnes Scott College with a degree in Studio Art (in my hometown of Atlanta), I moved to New York City, where I quickly learned that working in illustration as a career wasn’t for me. It wasn’t until a year later that my lightbulb moment occurred: I was playing around with an illustration in Photoshop and accidentally mirrored it into a pattern. It felt like a lightning bolt, and I knew I wanted to be a pattern maker.
It took me several years of research, interning with silk screen printers, and working as a bartender to build the capital I needed before my first wallpaper line was ready. I was fortunate that my partner (and now husband) didn’t think I was crazy to start my own business in a field I knew little about, but he’s a Texan and had the can-do spark to keep me going when I was ready to give it all up.
I founded Grow House Grow in 2007, and my “art” is hand-printed wallpapers inspired by narrative. In 2012, I introduced our top-selling line of handmade cement tiles as an homage to my Cuban heritage (my mother is a refugee from Havana). In 2020, I joined forces with Austin-based Clay Imports to offer a selection of our cement tile patterns in handmade clay, and it’s been so wonderful to see how these patterns translate into new mediums. Whether it’s a curiosity, a historical figure, or an interesting place, these patterns are my joy and incorporate my love of design and tall tales.
Although Grow House Grow is based in Brooklyn, Austin is our sister city in many ways: Supply Showroom is our pattern home, where all our wallpapers and cement tiles are available to the trade. Clay Imports on North Lamar carries our handmade clay tiles and produces them. Outside of New York, it’s our biggest market! I’ve been lucky enough to have amazing partnerships in Austin and be able to spend plentiful personal time there visiting family.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far, would you say the journey has been smooth?
Not a smooth road. I founded Grow House Grow in 2007, right before the ’08 recession. Because I was particular about having our wallpapers hand silk-screened, the cost upfront is steep. It took years of bartending to save enough money to produce the first line, and there still wasn’t a budget for marketing. I only had my first sale nine months after the wallpaper launched, and my second sale came a month later. Most of our growth was completely organic; it involved a lot of cold emails and a great deal of luck. Back then Design*Sponge and Design Milk were huge blogs that were still relatively new; I had a few write-ups there, but it wasn’t until I was chosen by the New York Times as the lead image and write-up for a local design show called Brooklyn Designs that I got more traction. I worked in the bar industry for many years to shore myself up, and I had my daughter in 2010. There’s no room to explain the obstacles and challenges that came with that entirely, but most readers will know that juggling and struggling are complex and draining. One of the biggest lessons I learned in my first years of building my business was that it’s ok to do what you need to get by. Working odd jobs, answering emails at 3 am, or taking a call holding a spitting-up baby is just part of the show! It doesn’t lessen what you’re doing or make you any less of a professional in your field.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
Our wallpapers initially set us apart; in a digital world, our papers are made by hand every step of the way. Our screens are hand-built, our inks hand-mixed, and each bolt is hand silk-screened with care in New York. There’s a depth and luxury to them; believe it or not, they’re less expensive than many high-end digital wallpapers. A handful of our wallpapers are in the Brooklyn Museum’s permanent Decorative Arts collection, which is a huge honor. I also incorporate stories into all of our patterns. I have a line dedicated to mythical isles, forgotten women scientists, sister cities worldwide, and the history of pigments. There’s so much inspiration out there. For me, the story is as important as the pattern; it’s how my illustration brain fits into the picture. Wallpapers aside, I do take particular pride in our handmade tiles. I grew up seeing the beautiful patterned tiles in family photos from Cuba, and I’m passionate about bringing unique designs in this traditional medium to the US. It’s a connection to a place that is very bittersweet for my family and me.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like: So much of Austin is incredibly authentic; it isn’t trying to be anything else than what it is. Hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bars, weird little shops, amazing museums celebrating history and ephemera, it’s all there. And the signage? I’m constantly breaking my neck, craning around, trying to spy on some old neon or vintage hand-lettered advertisement. It’s something many other metropolitan areas have let disappear over time or don’t celebrate.
What I don’t like:
I also have this complaint about Brooklyn; when corporations and luxury brands move into a historically small business area, the charm is erased. Small businesses aren’t just those cool signs I was talking about; they’re shop owners who are part of the local community and are the authentic draw that gives a neighborhood its flavor. These unique stores and restaurants are owned and frequented by people who are based in and care about what’s happening in their backyards, and when they’re gone, it shows. No matter how hard a big brand’s marketing team works to fit in, this lost character and history that can’t be replaced. Austin has changed significantly over the decades, for better or worse, and this is on the negative end of the spectrum.
Pricing:
- Wallpaper Roll: $220 (appx. $6.50/sf)
- Tile: $22.50-27 per square foot.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.growhousegrow.com
- Instagram: @growhousegrow
Image Credits
Print shop photo: Erin Willis, Photo of me: Gretchen Connell
