From The Desk Of: Kat Borchart

Feb 16, 2017

What’s on your desk?

I try to keep it pretty sparse - my computer staples are forever present..laptop platform, monitor, Wacom tablet and portable Lacie HD with my to-do notebook and depending on the day it’d be stacks of receipts, polaroids and more hard drives.

Fill in the blank: "I don't show up at a meeting without _________."

Pen + notebook, leave-behind cards, mints, doing a quick bathroom check

What's on your reading list?

Just picked up The Princess Diarist and am curious to read Ivanka Trumps new book Women Who Work. I’m a big fan of Lean In so I’m dying to compare the two.

What’s in your bag/always on your person?

Aesop hand sanitizer + Rose Lotion, chapstick

I'd pay good money for... / Wouldn't take even if free...

Skincare / things for contouring

I'm a true believer in... / Major skeptic about...

The power of personal relationships / the power of social media influencers

Fear conquered... / Not quite there yet...

Public speaking (sort of) / speaking on camera

My proudest accomplishment is... / The next goal on the horizon is...

Being my own boss / carve out more time for travel

Subject I won’t shut up about lately... / Subject I avoid...

People spending too much time on their phones (texting or taking photos of the exhibit) at museums / Donald Trump

Constantly craving... / Don't see the appeal of...

La Croix / Kombucha

__ is worth the wait / I have no patience for _

Good food & drink / SUVs that park in compact spots

Skills mastered... / I can't quite get the hang of...

Macrame / crochet

Describe your personal aesthetic in three words:

Natural, colorful, energetic

Describe the creative space at your company:

My desk zone is one half of a loft space in the Atwater Crossing. Its has a ton of great light and feels really open and spacious despite its small size. I wanted to have a place outside my house that I could access my library of photo books and be comfortable meeting retouching deadlines.

What are your design inspirations?

The energy and simplicity of 90’s photography always inspires me to try and do more with less

How does one tap into their creative side?

Getting out of town and taking time off. When I clear space to relax I always get inspired to get back to work and try something new

Share an insight on your life or life in general that you’ve discovered:

Fortune favors action

When do you feel like you’re at your best?

When I can pull off the work/life balance. Definitely doesn’t happen all the time but I’ll get a few weeks here and there.

Branding is __________.

For products, not people

Because of my experience doing , I tend to pay more attention than most people do to .

Assisting and working in house / production, treatments and creative being super dialed in and buttoned up

Describe a typical day at work:

Every day is different, but if I’m not on set shooting I’m at my office retouching, doing paperwork and wrapping a job, laying out a new portfolio or promo piece, updating my website/blog/tumblr, putting together ideas for personal projects or doing emails.

What are the most exciting developments in your industry?

I love that more creatives are doing their own magazines with very thoughtful, minimal advertising…Darling, Tidal and Knit Wit are some of my favorites.

How do you start and/or end your day?

I almost always start with a coffee and a catch up with a friend at Proof Bakery, I try to end with a workout if I have time - a combo run/pilates class at FitMix or session at Pop Physique are my go-to's.

What is the best advice you’ve received recently?

Don’t get ahead of yourself

Tell us about your latest printed project:

I did my first softcover book this past fall. It had a variety of my footwear work that was mailed to specific brands. I’ve started to steer away from overview style promos and try to do something with a more focused vision. I hate hearing how many promos people achieve regularly that just get tossed out. I want to be conscious of someone’s time.

What was the inspiration behind this project?

I just really wanted something simple and straightforward - we did a bit of a message in the beginning of the book to set the tone but overall I just wanted big, colorful, graphic images that complimented each other well. I think for my next promo we’ll experiment a bit more with design, die cuts and binding.

What brought you to Paper Chase Press?

I’d done printed promos in the past but never in LA and I really wanted to have somewhere I could go to check color and ask questions, but also speak to someone friendly and knowledgeable and not a curmudgeonly old press guy. Also having no minimum quantities was a huge plus, for both pricing and bring environmentally conscious.

How often do you use printed goods to promote your business?

I do 1-2 annual promos, but am always working on new flat cards to have as leave-behinds for meetings or include with mailings.

What's the response like to these printed goods?

Everyone is always excited to receive something through the mail or just a tangible photo at the end of a meeting. One client I met with recently loved a particular image so much she had my flat card framed in her house! The ultimate compliment IMO.

How does this project fit into your design philosophy? Your branding? Your overall objectives?

I’m just getting my feet wet with books so I need to expand on that a bit more, but this was a huge jump from the printed newspapers I’ve done in the past in terms of quality - I wanted to send something a little more polished with bright colors and lovely paper stock to the more commercial clients I’d like to work with.

The paper product I can’t live without is and I use it to _.

Flat cards / write love notes and as a leave-behind at meetings and take-away at portfolio shows

What is your favorite aspect of your job?

Freedom to make choices about my career and being able to do something different everyday. After days of being on set I relish having days in the office where I organize and edit images, or pull inspiration and develop ideas for personal projects. And vise-versa, if I have a week off I get stir crazy and have to put together a shoot. I’ll try to hit the road with a great crew and creative new images.

What career moves and/or aspirations brought you to your current role?

From college to now I did a mix of working as an in-house photographer and assisting. Both experiences gave me a really solid foundation to grow my own career and reminds me to appreciate being able to spend time every day doing my own thing.

make your own

Handmade softcover books starting at $4 each

10 cards for $20

#Flat Cards #From The Desk Of #Softcover Books