Life & Work with Chelsea McGee of Olathe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea McGee.

Hi Chelsea, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Kellio Studio was born somewhat out of necessity. I have severe depression and anxiety, and one thing that helps me cope is drawing. I have always been this way even from a small child and have always loved drawing, coloring, and arts and crafts. Three years ago my first son was born and it really set my mental health back, and thats when I started creating. At this time we were still living in NY where I grew up and so my first small business was born.

I wanted to share my calligraphy with others and the business grew into a wedding decor and styling business in about six months. I made all the signage and large installations myself. Six months after that my husband came to me and said we are moving to Kansas City for my job I hope that is okay. After coming to terms with this move, I had never even been to Kansas City or lived anywhere outside of NY, I realized that my small business might not be successful in KC. I had no idea what the wedding market looked like and determined it was definitely easier just to sell off my larger reusable pieces and throw myself into making this move work for my family.

Four weeks into our move, still living out of a hotel because our house wasn’t ready yet, I found out I was pregnant. I knew that this was going to be tough on my mental health but I was excited to have something to focus on, instead of hyper focusing on every detail of our move and stressing about finding friends and a little support system here. Jump ahead nine months, Elio was born one month after the COVID lock down started. Hence the name Kellio, my two boys. This time going through postpartum I had an idea of what to expect, I had a support system here in friends and doctors. So why was my depression and anxiety worsening. So that summer (June 2020) I bought an apple pencil and started drawing in Procreate any time I felt an anxiety/panic attack coming on.

Some of the things I was drawing were actually pretty cool so I would build up the self-confidence and show them to my husband and a close friend. They both said I think more people would like this, why don’t you share these with the world. So I started an Instagram account and I would post drawings on there just to see what people thought of them. Someone suggested I make one of my drawings in to a sticker so they could put it on their laptop.

It’s like a lightbulb went off in my head. I can share these with people by making them into stickers, keychains, prints that can be framed, maybe even one day T-shirts. About a month later I open Kellio Studio on etsy. To date, I have almost 700 sales and I will have been open a year this week. I have attended and will continue to attend local craft shows and still currently selling on etsy and thinking about launching on Shopify as well. We will see what the new year has in store.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not even a little bit, is anyone’s though? One of the biggest business struggles I still face today is production. Finding a quality product that also give you a little room to make a profit while charging decent prices. I have made my way through a couple manufacturers and am currently liking the one I am using so here’s hoping that it stays that way.

My biggest personal struggle is trying to balance it all. I am a stay at home mom to both of my boys, finding time that I’m not physically drained between my kids and my mental health to grow and sustain my business is difficult. I struggle every single day with that balance and most of the time my kids come out on top and my mental health comes out on the bottom but I am trying to find a way to even the scales.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Kellio Studio is a sticker business that also makes keychains, prints for frames, designs tattoos, digital designs and soon I would like to get into apparel. I draw all of my designs myself on my iPad. I am most proud of my monthly stickers for charity that I started doing this year. Each month I pick a cause, design sticker with that cause message in mind then pick a charity that supports that cause to donate some of my profits to. I have donated to NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Women’s Earth and Climate Change Action Network, National Disability Right Network, Next For Autism, ASPCA, The Jed Foundation, The Trevor Project, just to name a few. I love being able to give back even in this small way.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I would say that I have learned that I am stronger than I think I am sometimes. Being locked in my house nine months pregnant with my almost two year old was a test of my strength for sure but not only that. My strength was tested when I realized I would have to set up and tear down after craft shows mostly by myself, again when I have to package 5-6 orders a day with two small kids in tow, and my strength is tested when I struggle between mom guilt and wanted to succeed in my business.

Pricing:

• Stickers starts at $3.50

Contact Info:

• Email: kelliostudio@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KellioStudio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelliostudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelliostudio