English Undergraduate Katie Satterlee ‘23 on Her Small Business, Katie’s Kreations

Katie Satterlee is a senior English major with minors in communication and journalism at Texas A&M University. She enjoys playing tennis, reading romance novels, and creating new products for her small business. Katie’s Kreations began when Katie sold bracelets out of her locker in high school for only a dollar. Her older sister, Jaden, was one of her first customers. While Katie didn’t make much of a profit, the experience gave her the confidence she needed in order to open a booth at Bryan First Fridays and expand Katie’s Kreations into the business it is today. 

Katie first heard of Bryan First Fridays two years ago in March 2021. She was invited by a friend and instantly fell in love with the creative booths lining the streets of Downtown Bryan. Before this, she “had no idea there was a way to sell [her] creations within a welcoming community of fellow creators and the kindest customers [she] could possibly ask for.” Katie began her own booth the following month. While it was intimidating to publicly display her work, she found that in her experience “people have an enormous capacity for kindness and acceptance. All you have to do is give them the chance.” 

Katie has received an incredibly positive response to her booth. She insists that she “can’t do the people of this town justice for all of [their] love and appreciation.” Katie’s Kreations has gained many recurring customers throughout two years of First Fridays, and Katie loves seeing familiar faces and hearing stories and feedback about her creations. In addition to the support of the Bryan community, Katie is thankful for the support of her parents. They have always encouraged her to pursue her dreams, and they even come to Bryan every First Friday to help set up and work at their daughter’s booth. 

Much of the artwork Katie creates is influenced by her background in English. She often takes inspiration from “nostalgic children’s literature” such as Frog and Toad, Winnie The Pooh, and the world of Beatrix Potter. She especially enjoys when “customers tell [her] their childhood experiences with these classic tales when they see [her] work or share a memory unlocked by a familiar crocheted animal.” One day, Katie hopes to paint and crochet characters from her own children’s books. Additionally, Katie is influenced by popular culture, and her favorite thing she’s made so far might have to be a crocheted Momo from Avatar the Last Airbender. 

Katie graduates from Texas A&M University in May, but she plans to remain in the College Station area and continue to build her business and work as a reporter, content writer, or copy-editor. She hopes to eventually expand Katie’s Kreations into its own store and illustrate her own children’s books. 

I, for one, cannot wait to see what she creates next. 

Visit Katie’s Kreations in downtown Bryan on First Fridays to see her latest creations! For more updates, follow Katie’s Kreations on Instagram @katies._kreations.

Two examples of Katie’s beautiful paintings in lovely, thrifted frames and inspired by Beatrix Potter and Frog and Toad. 

A closer look at Katie’s jewelry, including acorn earrings made from actual acorn shells 

Several examples of Katie’s crocheted stuffed animals, including an adorable goose named Lily