Featured Contributor & Giveaway: The TomKat Studio

Our dear contributor and woman behind The TomKat Studio Kim Stoegbauer, is taking time to answer some of our curious questions today. We are proud to boast that we knew Kim way back when. Okay, it’s only been less than two years but she’s exploded onto the children’s party scene with her sweet sense of style and highly coveted DIY party printables.

What’s your typical morning look like?
With the help of my wonderful husband, we get the kids showered, fed, lunches made and off to school (Tommy is in Kindergarten and Kate is in Preschool). I get settled in at my desk and start checking email, Facebook & Twitter. I make sure our latest post is ready to go out for our 9:00am email feed.

What are your real work hours these days?
With Tommy starting Kindergarten and Kate in preschool, my work hours have become much more defined, which is great! I have three days of 9am-3pm of uninterrupted focused work time. I definitely can’t get everything done (plus household errands and duties) in 18 hours a week, so I usually also work after everyone is sleeping! I am a night owl so I love designing and blogging at night.

It takes passion, dedication and time to start your own business, all of which you have. How long has it taken for you to make your business profitable?
I have been very lucky with the quick success of my business. I started it about a year and a half ago, and with the lack of overhead it became profitable almost immediately. I am extremely passionate about my business, which makes it so easy to dedicate time to it. I still step back some days and can’t believe how fast it’s grown and that people really love what I am creating!

What or who gave you your big break? In otherwords, how did you get that massive facebook fan following ;)?
Hee! Hee! The Facebook following has really come gradually, rather than one big feature on another site. When I started my fan page, I really started using it right away to not only showcase my own work, but to feature other parties and products that caught my eye. I have been using it more as a community, where my readers can ask me questions directly on my page and I will always answer them. I also ask for my fans to help other fans with ideas for party themes and sources when they are looking for them. It gives the page that welcoming feel that readers respond to. I couldn’t be more esctastic that the page has nearly 10,000 fans!

WIN IT! The TomKat Studio is giving one lucky Project Nursery reader a $50 credit towards any purchase within the The TomKat Studio’s Etsy Shop (good for one year). Visit Kim at The TomKat Studio and comment back with either your very favorite collection or share a design idea for future TKS collections!

EXTRA ENTRIES
1. Become a fan of Project Nursery and The TomKat Studio on Facebook  and comment.
2. Follow Project Nursery and The TomKat Studio on Twitter,  tweet about it and comment.
3. Subscribe or let us know you are a subscriber with a comment.
4. Blog it and comment.

CONTEST CLOSED – Congrats MKR Creations