How This Watercolor Artist Became Insta-Famous

Creative Crushin': How This Designer Quit Her Day Job and Became a Nomad

First off, are nomads still a thing? Yes. Yes, they are. And in the case of Cat Coquillette, they come in the form of an insanely inspiring artist! Self-described as “a location-independent designer,” Coquillette’s story is one that will certainly inspire a healthy combo of hard-workin’ hustle and dreamy wanderlust. In just two years, Coquillette has lived in 13 different countries, and she’s barely scratched the surface when it comes to all the places she wants to check out.

Coquillette’s most recent adventure brought her to the exotic land of San Francisco (!) where she filmed Brit + Co’s newest online class on Stylizing Lettering in Photoshop. Check it out, and get ready to up-level your lettering skills :)

Anjelika Temple here, Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Brit + Co, and unofficial Cat Coquillette fangirl. Read our latest installment of Creative Crushin' to learn all about how Cat got started, what sparked her nomadic life change, and some of the wildest things she’s experienced over the last couple years.

Brit + Co: First, the basics. Where are you from? Big or small family? What did you study in college? Did you always know that you wanted to be a professional artist?

Cat Coquillette: Despite only having one sibling, the house I grew up in was bustling with energy– we had dogs, cats, bunnies, guinea pigs, doves, frogs, turtles, and more gerbils than I could count. My brother even had a pet snake that lived in the basement — until my mom found out about it. Growing up in this environment is probably why I’m such a huge animal lover today.

I grew up near Kansas City, which has a top-notch art and design community. I’ve always gravitated towards creative paths and have been drawing for as long as I can remember. My art teachers encouraged me to pursue my passions, so by the time I got to college, I double-majored in graphic design and illustration at the University of Kansas.

B+C: What types of day jobs did you have before you were able to go all in on art and design?

CC: If you want to go way back, my first job was at a paint-on-pottery studio when I was 16. It was short and sweet — I was canned after a few months because I spent more time painting the merchandise than doing my actual job. So I guess this was pretty foretelling of my future career as a self-employed artist.

Fast-forward to the more recent past: My design professors in college had great industry connections, so I hounded them to help me get connected with Willoughby Design, an award-winning branding firm. Willoughby offered me an internship during my senior year, followed by a job offer. I was ecstatic.

I worked as a designer and art director there for four years and loved every minute of it. The founder, Ann Willoughby, is an incredible mentor to me. She started the business from the ground up back in the '70s, when women in design were few and far between. She continued to grow and cultivate the firm into the success it is today.

I had so many opportunities while working there and learned from the best in the business. I worked alongside a team of talented creatives as we whipped up logos, branding identities, websites, packaging, photoshoots — you name it.

My job was incredibly fulfilling and challenged me in all the right areas. A lot of the methods I use today are based on the things I learned during that job, like crafting the perfect proposal, working with clients, and laying down a solid strategy before diving into the creative process.

B+C: Was there a turning point when you realized you could turn your side hustle into your main hustle?

CC: The turning point for me was fairly straightforward. When I started earning more with my side hustle than I did at my regular job, I made the decision to pursue self-employment. It was a slow-build, so I had a lot of the logistics worked out before I put in my two-weeks notice — I’d incorporated as an LLC, worked with my CPA to establish how much I should expect to pay in taxes, and saved up a “nest egg” of income just in case things went south.

It was incredibly difficult to leave behind a job that I loved so much, but ultimately it was the right choice for me.

B+C: What inspires you? Why do you love to make things?

CC: Travel has become my primary inspiration for the artwork I create. I snap photos of the interesting things I encounter around the globe, then use the photos as references for my paintings. Because of this, each of my paintings holds a special memory for me — my alpacas watercolor is more than just a set of six cute alpacas; to me, it’s a memory of my trip to Peru with my family when we hiked up to Machu Picchu.

B+C: On your website, you note that education is a huge focus for you. We’re so thrilled to launch your class here on Brit + Co (more deets here!). Tell me more about what drew you to teaching.

CC: I believe in community over competition and have devoted a large part of my brand to creating resources that allow fellow artists to thrive. After all, I sought help from artists’ blogs and entrepreneurial programs when I was first getting started.

Before I got involved with art education, my focus was on growing my art portfolio and business. I have to admit that education wasn’t even on my radar. However, as my brand expanded, I began receiving emails from people that were seeking guidance about how they, too, could find success in creative fields. This was the first time that I ever considered that I might have advice worthy of sharing.

Initially, I was pretty timid about marketing myself as an educator. After all, I’d never taught anything in my life and wasn’t sure how to go about doing so. However, I saw a need in the realm of art entrepreneurship — so many creatives had the potential to succeed, but weren’t sure where to begin. This is exactly how I felt at the beginning of my career, so I decided to focus on helping this audience. I realized that I could use my experience to help other creatives reach their full potential.

B+C: When did you take the plunge and become “location-independent”? Did a specific event spark your decision?

CC: One of the best perks about working online is that I have complete freedom over where I do my work. As long as I have a steady WiFi connection, I can pretty much do my job anywhere.

After the lease expired on my Kansas City apartment, I packed up all my belongings and stored them in my brother’s basement. I tossed the rest into a duffel bag and spent the next six months road-tripping from Colorado to California. I worked in coffee shops and stayed in Airbnbs.

My goal was to spend those six months testing the waters and figuring out where I ultimately wanted to live. There was only one big problem — I didn’t have just one favorite city, I loved the entire experience of exploring every new place. It took me the entire six months to realize that I didn’t need to pick a new permanent home; I could make this nomadic lifestyle work instead.

Since that moment, I’ve worked and traveled through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, and the USA.

B+C: How long have you been a nomad?

CC: Only a few short years — I’ve been location independent since July of 2016.

B+C: Alright here’s a tough one. Top five craziest/best/most inspiring/incredible moments from your travels so far?

B+C: Is there a place that you’ve stayed in that you could see returning to for a longer stint? Why? Or why not?

CC: I’m absolutely smitten with Mexico City. It was never really on my radar, but I recently visited CDMX for a conference and left with a solid appreciation for this city. Between the street food, friendly locals, art culture, great coworking spaces and cafes, and nearby mountains, I’m adding this CDMX to my list of “must return” places.

B+C: Given that you’re on the move all the time, what does your support system look like?

CC: I’m so grateful for my family for providing such a solid support system. Without them, this lifestyle would be much more challenging to maneuver through.

My brother is a computer genius, so he helped me set up a remote server that backs up to the Cloud every night, so even if I lose my computer somewhere in the world, my files are always safe. My brother also set up an alert system so that if I ever go 24 hours without opening my laptop, he gets an email. I’ve gotten a few phone calls from him over the years asking if I’m alive. On those occasions, I’ve had to sheepishly explain that I’m taking a *rare* weekend away from working.

All of my personal and business mail goes to my parents’ house in the US. They also let me keep all of my staple belongings there so I always have a place to crash when I’m back home. I’m also incredibly grateful for my mom, who spoils me every time I’m home by stocking the fridge with my favorites — brie cheese and dill pickles. Yum! My brother and sister-in-law also let me store all my extra belongings at their place (and trust me, I have a lot of shoes.)

B+C: How do you manage your time? Do you come up with set hours for yourself or just go with the flow?

CC: I keep my schedule fairly flexible. I work when I have things to accomplish and step away from my computer when I need to recharge. If I’m working in a coffee shop and catch myself idly browsing through Facebook, I close my laptop and take that as my cue to go for a walk and get some fresh air.

I’ve never been a nine-to-five kind of person; instead, I take plenty of mini-breaks throughout the day and get the bulk of my work done in the evenings. I feel most creative at night, so that’s when I spent my time painting, drawing, and brainstorming new creative avenues. Ultimately, I’ve found that this is how I am most productive.

B+C: When you’re feeling creative burnout, how do you reset?

CC: The best cure for creative burnout is to get out of my comfort zone, even if that simply means exploring the other side of the city. It can be refreshing to get lost in your own city and to discover things for the first time.

Another remedy for burnout is to head into nature, whether it’s a walk along a nature trail or a day in the mountains.

B+C: What’s on your studio playlist?

CC: I’m a huge fan of podcasts. My favorites: Radiolab, The Daily, How I Built This, Reply All, This American Life, Planet Money, Lore, The Moth, TED Radio Hour, Stuff You Should Know, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, Freakonomics Radio, Creative Pep Talk, and Home of the Brave.

B+C: What advice do you have for emerging artists who are ready to take the leap and work for themselves?

CC: Explore various avenues and find what works best for you. One person’s success won’t be the answer for everyone. Once you find your jam and hit your stride, capitalize on that momentum and hustle hard.

Embrace the business side of your career. Being creatively talented got me far, but my interest in business got me to where I am now. Andy Warhol said it best, “Business art is the step that comes after Art. I started as a commercial artist, and I want to finish as a business artist.”

I get so amped up over the entrepreneurial side of my career. I’m constantly trying out new tactics and it’s exciting to see what sticks. For every hour that I spend painting, I typically spend another marketing, promoting, corresponding with clients, or doing any number of tasks like adding new content to my site or updating financial spreadsheets and tracking invoices.

B+C: Any tips/tricks/tools you’d recommend for someone who wants to try their hand at a modern nomadic lifestyle?

CC: Adaptability isn’t just great for my business, it’s also key for my location-independent lifestyle. My best advice for anyone that’s interested in traveling full-time is to be flexible, open-minded, and curious. Some of my favorite adventures happened after I took a wrong turn or had to change plans at the last minute.

You don’t need to have every little detail planned out before you embark on your journey. In fact, when it comes to both traveling and running my business, sometimes it’s better to work things out along the way as I strive towards my larger goals. If you would have told me a few years ago that I would have quit my stable job, left the United States, and spent 24/7 exploring the globe and working on my laptop, I would have had a million questions about how this was even possible. What about all of the minutia it takes to do this, like not speaking the local languages, finding a place to live, and ensuring that I can continue earning enough to support myself? When you consider all of this at once, it can be overwhelming, which often leads to inaction. Instead, I prefer to envision large goals and deal with the small steps it takes to achieve them as they arise.

B+C: In five years, where do you see yourself? :)

CC: The world is a big place, and I’ve experienced a sliver of it. In five years time, I hope to still be traveling with the same zest and curiosity as I do now.

“And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.” ― Shanti

Wow. Talk about inspiring. You can follow Cat's adventures @CatCoq on Insta, check out more of her work at CatCoq.com, and school yourself on how to stylize lettering in Photoshop in Cat's online class.

For more crush-worthy creatives, be sure to check back on our Creative Crushin' series. We've got lots of bold, brilliant, badass stories to share with you!

Let us know if you have a creative crush you want to share @BritandCo.

Author: Anjelika Temple (Photos via Cat Coquillette and Brit + Co; Design by Sarah Tate)

As a Power of Women honoree, Mariska was recognized in regards to her work as an advocate for sexual assault survivors. She took the stage and used her platform to discuss rape and assault conviction reversals, shining a light on the recent overturned ruling in Harvey Weinstein's landmark NYC case. Here's what she said:

Today I want to talk about reversing convictions, and more specifically I want to talk to you about how impossible it is to reverse mine. It’s impossible to reverse my conviction that survivors matter. It is impossible to reverse my conviction that what happens to us matters, and that our society must respond to survivors with a more a compassionate, holistically, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of what healing means.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that after a trauma, survivors can reclaim lives of hope, of possibility, of audacious risk, beautiful intimacy, and glorious, glorious abundant joy. And I stand before you as evidence of that statement.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that we must listen to survivors as experts on what justice means. It is extraordinary how little their voices are consulted, let alone incorporated, in the process of deciding how to repair harm. Justice is not a one-size-fits-all journey.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that patriarchal impunity has to end. Patriarchal impunity is when a male-dominated system exempts perpetrators from punishment. Studies show that only 20% of all rape cases in the U.S. are reported to the police, and that between 5 and 0% of all rapes result in a guilty plea or a conviction. So why do 80% of victims not report? Because they're met with a system that grants impunity to perpetrators; a system that blames victims; a system that accepts only those victims who are experienced as "real" rape; a system that completely misunderstands the neurobiology of trauma, which causes behavior in women that doesn't fit the picture of how a "real victim" would act.

Is that change needed that victims should just pull themselves together? Just buck up and report anyway? No. No, it's the system that receives them that needs to change

It is impossible to reverse my conviction — and the conviction of my extraordinary team, The Joyful Heart — that the backlog of untested rape kits can be brought to zero; that the testing of all new kits must be mandated; that we need a statewide kit tracking system; and that survivors have the right to access the status of their kits.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that grammar — yes, grammar — that we use when we speak about rape must change. In the sentence, "A woman is raped," there's a crime and there's a victim, but there's no perpetrator. Where's the perpetrator? Where is he? Statistically, as we know, most likely he's walking free. He's so free that he doesn't even appear in the language about the crime that he committed. Is that not extraordinary? It's extraordinary that in the very grammar, the perpetrator goes free. Reintroducing perpetrators in the language of rape will make some very unwieldy grammar, but that's the nature of change. It's unwieldy, it's messy, it's uncomfortable, but it's necessary.

Hargitay continued on in her prolific speech to describe that rape shouldn't be considered a "crime of passion" because it's "not simply the next step in the trajectory of his passion" when a man takes a consensual hookup too far and assaults a woman against her will. She stated that it's "an exercise of power," doubling down that the language we use is important.

The speech went on to address that rape is both about power and control, as a "construct" that was "built, and assembled, and reinforced over time." She noted that there are people with these positions of power — and she specifically called out those in the entertainment industry — that could make a difference and aligned themselves to victims and survivors.

After this and some other remarks, Hargitay specifically called out the Weinstein conviction reversal. She said:

I do want to say something about the Harvey Weinstein conviction, specifically about the reason that it was overturned: too many women's voices. Too many women's voices were allowed to speak. Hallelujah! Amen! I can't imagine anything more beautiful than that. The Daily podcast episode talked about how it was so risky for the prosecution to have that many women testify. Risky to let women speak? You're damn right it is!

Too many women speaking brings change. Too many women speaking shakes the establishment. Too many women means we get listened to more, and people might actually hear what we have to say. Look what happened when women started saying just two words, right? Me too — just as an example — a tidal wave of change. Me too.

And then of course, there was the response: the Me Too Movement. The backlash. The examination of whether the changes that have come are lasting, or are even positive. Of course there's a backlash! What did they expect? For women to speak repeatedly, loudly, together, with a purpose — for there to be no backlash? The backlash is evidence of how powerful those voices were, how powerful those voices ARE.

Watch Mariska Hargitay's Full Speech Here

Turns out that your TV heroes really can be your IRL heroes after all. Long live Olivia Benson! Long live Mariska Hargitay!