Meet Kathryn Way | Founder, Lowborn Goods

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathryn Way and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathryn, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Something I’ve always known about myself is that I have to be very interested in what I’m doing to do it well and often. This all made sense when I got diagnosed with autism in 2022, but even before then, I was always creating a little scaffolding in my life that made it easier to accommodate the way my brain functions. I started working for myself in 2015 and I knew that the best way for me to produce work sustainably was to follow my special interests and essentially, find a way to get paid to play creatively. Creative work doesn’t drain me the way a lot of other careers do and working for myself allows for flexibility in my hours. Having an artistic career isn’t much of a choice for me—it’s the best environment for my brain.

What should our readers know about your business?
I started making home goods and candles in order to make my space feel like a sanctuary. That turned into gifts for friends and family, and then I finally opened a shop by popular demand. I’ve never had the budget for lavish decorations, and neither do most of my customer base, but we yearn for a reprieve from the realities of daily life. The ethos behind Lowborn is to treat yourself with something nice, even if it’s as simple as lighting a candle and taking a bath. I had to take a long break from Lowborn because of my health in 2022, and reviving it has been the main challenge I’ve faced recently. I am so grateful to my community for welcoming me back and to my friends and loved ones who helped me get it back off the ground. While the brand started as a way for me to work through my own feelings of safety in my home, it’s evolved to being about connecting with community and creating safe spaces together.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Breakfast: Hot Bagel, La Guadalupana, Brasil, Melange Creperie
Coffee: Bohemeo’s, Blacksmith, Catalina
Lunch: Tacos al Tierra Caliente, Thien An Sandwiches, AL Quick Stop, Shri Balaji Bhavan
Dinner: Nobie’s, Teotihuacan, LA Hamburger & Daiquiries, Aladdin, Frank’s Pizza, Mala Sichuan, Baso
Drinks: Lil Danny Speedo’s Go Fly a Kite Lounge, Moontower, Warren’s, George, Pearl Bar
Culture: Go to an art show at Wander Like Wonder or The Art League, browse the collections at Houston Museum of Fine Arts, check out the bones & ancient things at Houston Museum of Natural Science, take a history tour at the Heritage Society, catch live music at Dan Electro’s or Heights Theatre, and see whatever’s on stage at Catastrophic Theatre or Rec Room.
Nature: Hermann Park, Centennial Gardens, Menil Park, Memorial Park, the Arboretum
Or see if any of my favorite local artists are in an exhibition: Hannah Bull, Autumn McIlraith, Anastasia Kirages, Angel Oloshove, Sophie Bishop, Ned Gayle, Loc Huynh

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My good friend Michael Gonzales of ProtoLab was an integral part of brainstorming and prototyping early Lowborn products and designs. Michael and I frequently collaborated on projects before Lowborn existed. Once I started Lowborn, he gave me a lot of small business advice as well. He does incredible architectural work through ProtoLab and teaches at the University of Houston. Recently, I have had somewhat of a revival of Lowborn which wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration of small business owners and creatives in my community. Lil Danny Speedo’s Go Fly a Kite Lounge gave us a venue to set up the Something Nice Night Market where talented local creatives like Autumn McIlraith of Paper Autumn, Sonia Parga of Light and Shadow Glass, Ryah Barazi of Ryah Barazi Ceramics and our resident tarot reader Veronica McNelis all helped build a beautiful, welcoming, monthly community market.

Website: https://lowborngoods.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lowborngoods

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lowborngoods/

Image Credits
Kathryn Way, Cory Cook