About

My name is Kara.  And I like to make stuff.

For 13 years, I worked in the advertising/communications/consumer conversations/fill-in-the-trendy-word-du-jour industry.

I used to interview prospective hires, and people would inevitably ask, “what do you like about your job?”

The first part of the answer was easy: I liked the people I worked with.  But it always sounded a little cliché (because that’s what everyone says – after all, no one wants to seem like an egotistical, unfeeling clod).  So, I’d usually add a second part: I liked the tangibility of making something.

Call me nerdy (it wouldn’t be the first time), but I love to create.  I like the process of planning, imagining, and developing something that will eventually become an “IT.”  An IT that has depth and dimension.  An IT that emerges partially from smarts, but usually more from sweat.  An IT that makes you feel something — and means something to someone else.

In my job, my ITs were usually ads.  I liked how rewarding it felt when I saw the finished product come to life.  I got a kick out of watching the Today Show and seeing one of my spots show up between Matt’s story on the latest political scandal and Meredith’s 3rd makeover of the week.

I guess it’s not surprising that I took the same approach to my life.  For over a decade, I was happily building away — preparing for a family, a future, and all those other things you go to college/have a job/get married for.

But sometimes, life throws you a curveball.

One day, I realized that my IT wasn’t going to turn out the way I thought it would.  It started with one domino, and then led to more.  My marriage.  My house.  My job. Everything changed.

And when that happens, all you can do is start over.

So that’s what I’m doing.  I’m writing a new future for myself.  You might think it’s scary (which it is), or difficult (also true), but it’s an incredible opportunity, too.  And thankfully, I’m not starting completely from scratch.  I have a lot of amazing people and experiences that I get to bring with me into whatever new life I architect.

So, this is the first step in my journey.  The inaugural brick in a new foundation.

I’m going around the world in 80 days (well technically, 81 — but let’s not be picky). Along the way, I’m planning to take a break from the everyday, get a little inspiration, and mostly, start figuring out what’s next.

Come join me.  It’s gonna be a blast.