Where does one choose to start their own story?
I was born Kathryn Marie Thompson, but the moment my parents held me in their arms, they called me Kate.
I grew up running barefoot with the family dogs and my brothers in the foothills of northern California. My parents instilled a deep love of nature in me and encouraged creativity over television time. I grew into a multi-skilled artist with a devotion to animal rights and conservation, which has led to my life journey looking less like a linear progression and more like an epic quest… and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
In high school, I played varsity soccer all four years and participated in student government, even serving as Vice President of my Junior year class. I loved school, passing every Advanced Placement elective I could enroll in (except Calculus, if I’m being honest…). During my senior year, I was selected to represent my high school in Broadcast Journalism at a convention in Universal Studios, Los Angeles.
Thus, my epic quest began.
If you told me my free-spirited, nature-loving heart would end up in one of the biggest cities in the country, I would have laughed at you.
I would have laughed even harder if you told me I’d work in fashion, but my curiosity carries me through every open door it can walk through. Every opportunity to learn is a gift… and an adventure.
A few months after graduation, I found myself in a bright blue Venice Beach bungalow, attending Loyola Marymount University as a Studio Arts major and making friends with street artists on the weekends.
These transformative years far from my sheltered upbringing exposed me to the real world, living alongside the encampments and hostels that the colorful beach town is famous for. I made friends from all walks of life, learning how to communicate and coexist with the people around me, but my favorite part was creating with them. There was always a menagerie of artists spread out on the boardwalk, practicing their crafts. Here, I picked up basic woodworking skills, spray painting, airbrush, and wire working, to name a few.
Halfway through college, my growing connections earned me a gig as a costume designer for local vaudeville cirque Lucent Dossier. My 24-hour access to LMU’s jewelry and metalworking studio helped me elevate my work, and I started selling my jewelry on campus to fellow students. With demand growing and graduation approaching, I set up an e-commerce website and moved closer to the fashion district in Downtown LA.
A few months later while mingling in the artistic circles of East LA, I was discovered by pop singer Ke$ha’s team. Through her stylist, I began designing novelty costumes and editorial headpieces for the stars of Hollywood.
As my work’s reputation traveled through the industry, I had the privilege of designing pieces for Beyonce, Maren Morris, Shakira, Halsey, and Willow Smith… just to name a few!
While out of town in 2014, my house in Beachwood Canyon burnt down due to an electrical fire… and with it, all my belongings and my art studio. The harrowing reality of having to start from nothing set in, so I returned to my roots. With no money, I ventured into nature to find my new materials… pine cones. Pulling the cones apart, I transformed the wood-like building blocks into jewelry, carving designs into the surfaces, and preserving the featherlight material with lacquer. It wasn’t much, but it was the first step in rebuilding.
My luck turned when a stylist asked me if I knew of any lightweight material that could be used to create gaudy gold dangle earrings for a client. Grinning ear to ear, I started gold leafing cone scales… to find out that these earrings were for Cher.
She loved them so much, she ordered them in 3 colors, and my business picked up.
Slowly rebuilding my company, I pivoted to the more dependable industry of bridal accessories. A one-woman show, I handcrafted every piece and sold them on my website Amaroq Design… I still do today! I fell in love with the intimacy of working one-on-one with brides to give life to their whimsical visions of their wedding day. I pride myself in the customer service I provide to my clients and thrive under the pressure of delivering perfection for such a special event.
In 2015, I agreed to build out Jared Leto’s Laurel Canyon property into a haunted Halloween House so epic, it got written up in Rolling Stones Magazine. Shortly thereafter, he offered me a part-time job working as a creative director for his production company, Adventures in Wonderland. I didn’t have much experience working on such large-scale projects, so I leaped at the opportunity to learn.
Over the next 3 years, I created giant art installations and activation stations for his band’s summer camp in Calabasas, CA… Camp Mars. I loved working with my team of international colleagues from all around the world so much, I traveled to Mexico with some of them to build installations for Bahidora Music Festival.
Throughout this time, I also volunteered at the Wildlife Waystation, an exotic animal sanctuary that was the first of its kind (founded in 1976). Located 30 minutes outside of LA in the Santa Clarita mountains, the compound rescued injured wildlife, animals rescued from the entertainment industry or exotic pet trade, and 43 chimps saved from biomedical testing facilities.
At first, I cleaned enclosures and helped run their social media accounts. I raised $38k through the Wayke-Up fundraising campaign and $25k more through private donors, hoping to reopen the private sanctuary to the public for educational services.
As the sanctuary fell on hard financial times, I joined the Board of Directors praying I could help turn things around. Unfortunately, founder Martine Colette passed away shortly after and amid the panic, board members began to resign. This shocked me. I had taken a vow to do what was best for the animals, and even though I was terrified, I knew that if the board dissolved the state of California and Fish & Wildlife would be responsible for the fate of all the animals. I was concerned they would make decisions based on cost instead of the animals’ best interests, so my fears aside, I stayed on with one other board member to hold control over where each animal was relocated.
This took 5 years. While most animals were relocated to fantastic sanctuaries within the first 2 years, the 43 chimpanzees had no place to go.
Great Ape sanctuaries were at capacity after the recent laws in the USA banning any form of testing on our closest relatives. Thankfully, I had the privilege of working alongside the renown North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA), which stepped in to help raise the millions of dollars required to expand existing sanctuaries and transport our chimps safely to their new homes. I am proud and relieved to say that we were able to keep the family groups together, each going to one of the top rescue facilities in the country. It was an honor getting to meet and work alongside this phenomenal organization.
In recent years, I felt a pull to better understand the fast, evolving world of digital marketing. Having taught myself the basics of each social media platform, I wanted a better understanding of the constantly changing landscape. I enrolled in UC Berkeley Extension’s Digital Marketing boot camp and fell madly in love with the challenges this field brings. I have continued to create and sell my bridal accessories, serving as a content writer and set designer for Stonehart Jewelry as well.
I am looking to switch things up a little bit and think my basket of skills might be put to good use helping other small companies grow and navigate the ever-changing landscapes of social media and e-commerce.
If you are looking for someone with a positive attitude, a wide skillset in the arts, and a solution-driven mindset, I would love to be a member of your team!
Kate M. Thompson 