Artist's Corner: Local Designer Forges Own Path

Necessity is the mother of invention. And when the inventor’s a veteran designer, the end result not only fills the need but is fashionable too. 

So went the story when Katherine Lamm was in need of a dog bed for her Boston Terrier and the only ones she could find to buy were, well, ugly. A designer by trade and an artist by nature, Lamm couldn’t consent to an ugly dog bed, so she made one herself. Soon, friends were requesting them. Now, strangers can order them too and consult with Lamm on the design. Each bed is named after the dog it was made for. (Rosie, Lamm’s photogenic pup, “knows when it’s time for a photo shoot” and models the beds on Lamm's website.) 

Of course, she doesn’t just make dog beds. Lamm also designs and makes bags out of vintage materials, uses a flatbed scanner and flower petals to make art prints, and has worked as a graphic designer for years. 

Friend and fellow multifaceted designer Nancy Polacek said Lamm is like anybody you know who is artsy: she doesn’t just do one thing. 

“She’s a graphic designer, but she’s done everything,” Polacek said.

After attending the University of Minnesota and the College of Arts and Crafts in California, Lamm has spent her entire adult life as a graphic designer, working at respected local agencies such as Martin Williams and Little & Company. Up until eight months ago, Lamm was an agency employee working on big contracts and highly visible work. But she confesses she often felt chained to her desk. When she heard layoffs were coming, she volunteered to be put on the list. 

“I wasn’t really happy,” Lamm said. “I liked my work, I loved my coworkers, but I just felt pretty locked in. [There were] all these things I wanted to do, and I wasn’t getting any younger.”

Taking her severance package and the notebook she had been keeping to collect ideas, she set to work on her own. 

Lamm created two websites for herself, one an online portfolio of her work and one a gallery of her crafts. She now works for herself as a freelance designer, creating everything from business logos to dog beds. She has never marketed herself, but keeps busy by word of mouth alone. Lamm sells her work independently, though she has also been in talks with Merry Beck of about selling her scanner prints from the store. The scanner prints, like much of Lamm’s work, are inspired by nature.

Charles Youel, of locally based bike art poster company ARTCRANK, worked with Lamm at Martin Williams.

“She just has a relentless sense of curiosity about the world–especially the natural world,” Youel said.

That relentless curiosity takes Lamm into her backyard and beyond to collect interesting bits and pieces for her scanner prints, leaving the floor of her basement workspace covered with pressed leaves and flower petals alongside the stacks of vintage feedbags that are waiting to be turned into stylish accessories.  

Lamm said she has always felt a need to create. Now working from home in what she describes as the “inspiring” neighborhood of Southwest Minneapolis allows her the freedom and flexibility to follow her own artistic sense. 

This is not to say she didn’t let her creativity reign when she was in the office rather than her basement, though. Charles Youel can vouch for that. 

“She was one of the most talented designers I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with,” Youel said. “She enlightened me to the potential of design.” 

Currently, Lamm sells her work exclusively from her website. Keep your eye out in the neighborhood, though, as she and Nancy Polacek along with Polacek’s daughter are looking for a studio space that will double as a storefront. Once the perfect place presents itself, you may just be able to see Lamm at work and buy a one of a kind piece in person. 

“I just need a venue for this stuff that I make because I can’t seem to stop making it,” Lamm said.