Daily Inspiration: Meet Ashley and Katie Mantooth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley and Katie Mantooth.

Hi Ashley and Katie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We are sisters who have always been incredibly close, and both happen to be creative. Our whole lives, we have been drawing, crafting, and creating. Ashley has degrees in Business Management and Interior Design, and Katie has her Bachelor of Fine Arts.

We started out in our own fields but in 2019, when the company Ashley was working for went out of business, she decided to go all-in with Mantooth Creative. Katie ended up joining full-time after being furloughed once the pandemic hit but has always played a big role in our collaborations.

There has been lots of learning, mistakes, growth, and working from home, to get us where we currently are. It’s all part of it. Our business is so ingrained into every aspect of our lives.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Trying to start an art business in a pandemic is incredibly discouraging at times. When people are trying to just get by, it’s hard to push a business that doesn’t necessarily contribute to people’s basic needs. However, we have learned that we still play an important role. We illustrate many pets who have passed away and even people. We become part of the healing process. We have also helped create many gifts for people during this hard time. It’s an absolute joy to make custom work for people, and see how they light up when they receive it.

Working from home has also been a challenge. Katie has a two and half year old, and Ashley has a seven-month-old. It is very difficult to take the time needed to get things done when you’ve got kids and husbands constantly around and asking for things. We would love a studio space, but it just doesn’t seem financially attainable at this time.

Another challenge has been honing in on what exactly we do. We have many different talents and like to create many different things. For example, Ashley designs amazing paper decor and invitations for parties, and Katie oil paints and bakes. It doesn’t exactly present as a cohesive business. We’ve struggled to combine all of our passions in a way that isn’t overwhelming and confusing. Our ultimate goal is to have a space where we can incorporate all of our interests into one unit that makes sense, but until then, baby steps.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We mainly specialize in our custom illustrations – we call them Illustrated Nouns. They are completely hand-drawn images (no apps or filters used) and are based on photos that our customers provide. We draw people, pets, homes, people’s favorite things – and most recently we have rolled out our Pop-Up Portrait events.

Our events are fun, interactive art sessions where we snap candid photos and send the illustrated artwork directly to the customer after celebrating their special day. In true artist form, we also offer prints of our personal work.

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
People are usually surprised to learn that we both do the drawings and often collaborate on the end design. It’s pretty cool how we can make our styles look so similar.

We also don’t fight. Our mom died when we were young, and through years of leaning on each other for everything, we just don’t fight. We are best friends and talk pretty much from the time we wake up until when we go to bed. We have the ability to listen, take criticism, and adapt to what each other have to say. There is an ultimate trust between us which lends well to splitting up tasks and managing the business.

Also, Ashley is a published author of the book Steam Railroads of Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota, and Katie fosters many dogs for a local dog rescue and recently rescued a beta fish named Treebark. Don’t ask – we could write a whole novel on the weird things we have done throughout the years, maybe we will?

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Https://www.mantoothcreative.com
• Instagram: Https://www.Instagram.com/mantoothcreative
• Facebook: Https://www.Facebook.com/mantoothcreative