LifeGrid Magazine - August 2017

PHOTO
FURNITURE
FABULOUS.
by Lisa Feren
pull up to meet Kara Greenwell,
founder of Narrative
Décor at her new artist’s
studio at Glashaus located
in Barrio Logan. I am
suddenly overwhelmed
with an explosion of ideas
of which to write about and
I am struggling with which
to write about first!
Do I talk about Barrio Logan? Of course!
The neighborhood, which is home to
Chicano Park, which was recently named
a National Historic Landmark and listed on
the National Register of Historic Places —
has the largest collection of Chicano
murals in the world! These historic murals
line the pillars of the San Diego-Coronado
Bay Bridge. It is breathtaking to walk
around what has become known as an
open-air museum! The California Arts
Council has also selected this eclectic and
diverse, yet inclusive, community as one of
California’s premier state-designated cultural
districts! (link to press release)
So it is no wonder that Glashaus, a renovated
glass factory and warehouse space
that now houses studio space for rent to a
plethora of artists from goldsmiths, to glass
blowers to painters to jewelers reside
there.
“Photos should be seen not stored”
Kara oozes with artistry, originality, ingenuity
and all those other buzzwords that
make you realize you are in the presence
of a true creative.
How did Kara get the idea for Narrative –
a photo inspired décor and custom furnishings
company? “Because every home
should tell a story. Your house should be a
reflection of you: what you love, where
you’ve been and who you long to be. By
blending photographs and furnishings, you
have another way to express yourself
creatively in your space and personalize
something that could otherwise be a throw
away accessory.”
Kara always wanted to start a company in
the home décor space. Kara and her
husband are addicted to refurbishing
historic homes – having renovated 3
houses over 100 years old. Their current
home in Hillcrest was built in the 1890’s
and was used as a carriage house! The
actual idea for Narrative came to fruition
while Kara was on the phone with her
sister who is a photographer. Kara
wanted to redo dining room chairs that
were given to her by her grandmother.
She commented to her sister that it would
be amazing if she could put photographs
on the chairs. Photographs on the
chairs!!!! BOOM! Then came research on
how to print photos on fabric (in a high
quality way). Then came lots of experimenting.
On Chairs. Pillows. Lamps. The
dog. Just kidding about the dog…
Lamps when lit up – literally light her up!
Currently, Narrative offers, and will continue
to offer, custom designed products such
as lampshades, chairs and pillows - but
stay tuned you may see her exclusive
designs in your favorite home décor shop
soon as she has plans to branch out into
retail. Kara is also partnering with a fellow
Glashaus glassblower to create unique
bases for her lampshades.
In Fall 2017, Kara is launching the first
Narrative lighting collections. One collection
is iconic California landscapes and
the other was created in collaboration with
youth photographers – through a local
non-profit, Outside the Lens where a
portion of the proceeds go back to support
their efforts.
“For people who crave personality to light
up a room.”
Kara is full of slogans – mostly due to her
marketing background. Kara has a long
list of corporate accomplishments from
Marketing Director of a software company
here in San Diego to running a successful
marketing consulting firm serving companies
in the real estate, technology and
consumer products niches.
Marketing consulting gave Kara flexibility
on how she spent her time after the birth of
her first daughter. It also taught her valuable
skills on entrepreneurship, finance,
billing, tracking and accountability and
time management to name a few.
Not only is Kara creative, smart and adorable,
she has a natural calm about her –
even in the midst of her crazy, busy life.
With two little girls, a husband, a dog and
a thriving business, I asked Kara to give us
tips and advice on how she balances it all!
Time Management:
“Managing time is a constant struggle. It’s
been important to reflect on what’s most
important to me. Family still comes first,
which is always difficult. I learned to
allocate my time differently - cranking out
work when it’s working hours. I found it
most helpful to get out of the house and
into a workspace (hence Glashaus). Finding
a collaborative space rather than a
coffee shop has helped me brainstorm and
interact with peers. For my business in
particular, visually spreading out my
designs and materials is important. A
studio also ensures little hands stay away
from finished products! For people who
can’t get out of the house it is important to
find ways to still interact with creative
fields. Join women’s peer networks who
meet regularly or find some other meet up
group. Just keep outside influences so you
don’t feel like you’re alone and lose
focus.”
Best tech tool tip:
Use online time management tools! I love
Wunderlist and learned how to really use it
to maximize its capabilities. I triage my to
do list. I list no more than 3 things that
must happen that day and put no more
than 3 on deck. It’s important to only list
goals that are achievable. Otherwise, you
feel like you haven’t accomplished muchbut
you have!”
I also use “Later” for social media scheduling.
Instagram is my primary social vehicle.
I use Later to post out 1 week at a
time.
Outsource what you can.
“I feel like I can do a little bit of everything
but can’t do it all at once. For instance I
have someone helping me with social
media posts. I have a seamstress for
pillow construction. I also outsource with
photographers.. Hint..Hint… An opportunity
for any photographers reading…”
I returned home and caught sight of my
couch pillows and my lampshades. No
stories there. Then I thought back to my
last several family vacations and the
photos which live on my computer that I
haven’t looked at in months (or years).
And it hit me that Kara is right. My home
doesn’t tell a story. My family’s story. That
needs to change. One photo and lampshade
at a time.
Glashaus theglashaus.com