Featured Edmontonian: Katie Lee, Obleek Design

F.Y.I., internets:  I’ve discovered thing #18648 that I really, really want: a custom strap for my rock band guitar.

Genius! Genius I say! Who would make such a brilliant product? Lo and behold, she’s from Edmonton.  Katie Lee is 27 years old, a graphic designer and an artisan; she and her mom run the Obleek etsy shop, selling
purses, totes, re-usable snack bags and the aforementioned guitar straps.

We recently had a little chat about her business, her background, and what inspires her work:

Q: How long have you been a designer (both web/graphic and fashion)?

A: I have been a graphic designer for 6 years.  I attended Grant MacEwan’s Visual Communication and Design program from 2000 – 2003, and I worked at 2 different companies before deciding to freelance on my own in 2007 at www.obleek.net. I design pretty much everything you can think of,
but my specialties lie with web design and branding/identities.

Katie stitches up a storm on Big Bertha, the industrial sewing machine

As for bag design, I’ve been drawn to sewing ever since my grandma let me play on her old machine when I was very little. My grandma was an avid sewer, as is my mom, so it runs in my blood. This past Christmas my husband and I were really trying to keep down the money spent on gifts, so I decided I would make bags and other gifts for virtually everyone on my Christmas list. This is also when I discovered all the cool fabrics I could order on Etsy, which started my huge obsession with bold and funky fabrics. Everyone loved the bags and straps I had made, and people kept telling me I should try selling them. I was already very intrigued by Etsy and what it had to offer, so I set up a store. At first, I only sold to my close family and friends, but soon it picked up from word of mouth and people randomly finding us on Etsy. It got to the point where I could no longer keep up with orders and marketing as well as running my graphic design business, so my mom
decided to partner with me. It was the perfect solution as she taught me everything I know,
we’ve been running our Etsy store together ever since. And every day our store is growing.
We’ve been mentioned on several message boards for women which has greatly affected our sales,
and we’ve been mentioned on a couple of blogs which has also snowballed our business.

Model Robyn Friedel shows off one of Katie's Obleek bags

Q: What inspires you? Do you think living in Edmonton influences your design aesthetic?

A: Fabric inspires me in a big way. I can look at home decor fabric that no one wants to buy because it’s too “out there” and I can envision a wicked looking bag. My purse obsession also inspires me. I love purses and totes. They don’t have to be designer either. Where most people watch other people, I watch purses. I often see women with ratty looking purses and I want to go up to them and say, “Here, check out our store! You need a new purse.” For some reason I can’t see that going over very well though!

I do think living in Edmonton has had some influence on my design aesthetic. Growing up surrounded by all the culture and art festivals we have here in Edmonton has definitely affected me and is partially responsible for fueling the passion I have for art and design. When I was younger I loved walking down Whyte Ave and taking in all the edgy, quirky sights it has to offer. That edginess is definitely something I am still drawn to in my graphic design work.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for Rock Band guitar straps? How have people been reacting to them?

A: The credit for the idea of making Rock Band/Guitar Hero straps goes 100% to my younger brother, Mike. He and my husband are obsessed with that game, and it was my brother’s idea that we make funky straps instead of the boring blah ones that come with the game. People have been very receptive to the idea, though I find they kind of get lost amongst our bags and reusable sandwich bags. I think I need to focus on marketing them more specifically, and sell them in places like craft fairs and
farmer’s markets. I really do think they would catch on a in a big way with the proper exposure.

Q: Has social media played any kind of role in the success of your etsy site?

Katie's mom & partner-in-purses, Samantha, shows of some of the Obleek fabric stash

A: Social media has played a huge role in the success of our Etsy store. I invited a handful of friends to join my Facebook group, and next thing you know, we have 100 members, many whom I don’tknow. Twitter has also opened the door on some amazing opportunities (including this interview!) and so has blogging and mentioning our site on message boards. The best thing is, I don’t have to work too hard at it. I can’t possibly be on Twitter all day, sew, design websites, and package and ship orders, but when I do post things, we always get some sort of response.

Q: Is there anything else that you think people would be interested to know about your work?

A: People should know that both my mom and I are very passionate about what we do. We absolutely care about every product we make, and will bend over backwards to make sure each and every customer is satisfied with their purchase. We love the customization aspect of what we offer, and our customers do
too. Now if only we could clone ourselves.