12 to Watch

Kristen Kilpatrick

Photographer

The Fort Worth native takes memorable photos from her travels around the world, for national clients like Bumble and Camille Styles, and at weddings around the state and beyond. Her photos have a special, ethereal look because many of them are shot on a film camera.

What have been some of your career highlights so far?
Traveling has been one of the biggest career highlights for me. From Italy to camping on the Zabezi River in Africa, this past year has been the most traveled year of my career yet. The experiences and friendships made through each shoot have been such a huge highlight.

Why Austin?
Austin is all-encompassing. Even though it’s a big city, it still feels small. I am continuously in awe of the design of the city. The creative community is strong here and feels like family. People are compassionate and truly gracious. Another major love I have for Austin is the nature that surrounds the city. I love that you can take a 30-minute drive and be completely surrounded by tall trees, brushy meadows, and the clearest watering holes. Nature and light are such a huge component to my work, so I constantly find myself gravitating to places like these.

We will undoubtably all fail, and perfection does not exist. The only thing you will ever have true control over is yourself, so operate with this in mind.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
No matter how much planning and hard work goes into something, it might not work out. It might crumble miserably and leave you feeling depleted, unwilling to continue. What I wish I knew is that these failures are what shapes us into what we are meant to be. Remaining true to your efforts and surrounding yourself with positivity will lead you to soar higher than ever imaginable. Failure can be beautiful, so when it happens, don’t waste any time letting it destroy you. We will undoubtably all fail, and perfection does not exist. The only thing you will ever have true control over is yourself, so operate with this in mind.

What inspires or drives you?
Much of my inspiration comes from art, fashion, and nature. The biggest of them of all is nature. Light-play and the environment fuel my creativity. I love the fusion that these two natural elements create, and there is no better tool than light. There is something magical about the effects light creates when twinkling through the trees, or kissing the land moments before sunset or sunrise.

How do you get it all done?
Endless coffee, Spotify, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and lots of living on a prayer. But mostly the key to getting things done is to only take on the type of work that excites me. That’s the real push to making deadlines and getting tasks completed. My clients are all so incredible, which in turn makes me want to deliver something above and beyond for them.

How do you relax?
There is nothing more relaxing to me than spending time in Hico with my horses — unplugged and surrounded by nature. The occasional massage is nice too!

What helps you get through creative blocks?
Immerse yourself around other creatives and you will be a stranger to creative blocks.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Josephine House — I could live there — Grizzelda’s, and Tiny Boxwoods.

What is your favorite outdoor spot to get away to?
Red Bud Isle Park with my pup.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
I am opening a print shop from my wild-horse series.

For more information on Kilpatrick, visit kristenkilpatrick.com.

Joe Holm

Director of Interiors, Clayton & Little

Interior designer Joe Holm, who hails from northern Wisconsin, got his start at McGuire Moorman Hospitality, where he helped design local restaurants like Elizabeth Street Café and Jeffrey’s. After moving to London for a few years, where his husband, Mike Hondorp, was working for Instagram corporate, they returned to Austin, and Holm joined Clayton & Little, where one of his recently completed designs is the French brasserie Le Politique. It’s impossible for him to pick a favorite project of the bunch. “Is it ok to say everything is a highlight, because I have an unnatural enthusiasm about restaurants? I truly love every project I do,” he says.

Why Austin?
I live in Austin for a lot of reasons: the people, the food, good friends, and definitely the sunshine. It’s always been my lucky place, the place where I came and everything — love, friends, career — just seemed to fall into place. I grew up in Wisconsin, which means I’m used to “Midwestern nice.” I feel like Austin has the same high levels of nice but with better weather than northern Wisconsin. It’s just all-around pleasant.

Who are your style and creative icons?
Creative: Ilse Crawford, Cara Woodhouse, Ford Huniford, Kay Kollar, Martin Brudnizki, India Mahdavi, Commune Design, and Arent & Pyke. Style: Iris Apfel, Joan Rivers, Michelle Obama, Amy Sedaris, and Delta Burke, circa “Designing Women.”

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Run your own race. A friend told me this recently, and it’s really true. You’re going to produce your best work and get better if you don’t spend all of your time comparing yourself to others. Especially in creative fields. Your internal self-critic is a real asshole, and you’ve got to ignore that.

What inspires or drives you?
I know it’s cheesy, but it’s my true and heartfelt desire to make Austin a great place. The city is changing — and that’s inevitable — but if a city has a great restaurant and hotel scene, and that is driven by a supertalented creative class, it’ll keep being a great city.

How do you relax?
I grew up around lakes, so water is a big thing. Hiking, running, swimming, or getting the hell out of town are very important. I have a wonderful husband, who is a cheerleader for frequent travel, which is really helpful on the relaxation and inspiration front.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Three is just unfair. Lenoir. Pitchfork Pretty. Justine’s. Bufalina. Fukumoto. Elizabeth Street — my first project in Austin. Kemuri Tatsuya. Dai Due. Sazón.

What is your favorite building?
I’ve always had a crush on the Brown Building, but if it’s a place to go visit, I’d say the LBJ Library. St. Martin’s Lutheran Church on 15th has always knocked my socks off, as has the current McGarrah Jessee building.

Annie-Laurie Grabiel & Arthur Furman

Architecture & Design Team, Side Angle Side

Native Austinite Arthur Furman met Annie-Laurie Grabiel in architecture school at the Rhode Island School of Design. Together they lived and worked in Miami for six years before returning to Austin, where Grabiel worked for Clayton & Little and Furman for his dad’s firm, Furman + Keil Architects. They decided to join forces in June 2016 in their own firm, Side Angle Side. Now there are a number of exciting projects on the boards, like a concept with the Brew & Brew guys called Little Brother Coffee and Cold Ones and a remodel of Sweetish Hill Bakery, a place particularly special to Furman, since he grew up snacking on bear claws there as a kid. He says: “The beauty of working together is, now we can take the projects that inspire us, rather than those that are given to us.”

What have been some of your career highlights so far?
Furman: Finding the courage and clarity and blind ambition to strike out on our own.

Why Austin?
In Austin we find ourselves surrounded by people who share our values and our creative interests and yet have completely different expressions of individuality.

Who are your style and creative icons?
Furman: David Byrne, Marcello Mastroianni, Los Carpinteros.
Grabiel: Eileen Gray, Franca Sozzani, Ana Mendieta.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Grabiel: Never try to fit into any mold, work-wise or societal.
Furman: Make mistakes!

What inspires or drives you?
The act of reinventing ourselves; in doing so, we’re confronted with the unknown and the possibility of failure, which is the strongest driving force we can imagine.

How do you get it all done?
Balancing a family (two young daughters) and a new business requires hyperfocus. We’ve found that beginning a project with a strong design thesis is instrumental to efficiency throughout the process.

How do you relax?
Furman: Playing piano and surfing.
Grabiel: Listening to loud music while flipping through books.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
Talking it through out loud with someone usually helps to bring clarity. Also, finding ways to see the problem from a new perspective, standing on our heads if we have to.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Actually four: Justine’s, Sazón, Kemuri Tatsuya, and Olamaie.

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink
Hotel San José, the Continental Club, and Irene’s.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
Our creative interests go beyond architecture. We intend to pursue many different avenues. Stay tuned!

For more information on Grabiel and Furman, visit sideangleside.co.

Ashley Spence

Founder, Wanderlust Yoga Austin

After suffering a brutal sexual assault in college, Ashley Spence felt lost for several years, until she discovered her yoga practice. “Yoga was the saving grace of my life,” Spence says. “It brought me from the dark back into the light, and I truly do not know if I would be here without it.” In 2012, she opened Wanderlust Yoga Austin, a popular studio downtown. After publicly sharing her survival story in a powerful video you can see on YouTube, Spence now travels around the country to share her story. “I hope to help others find their voice and spread a positive message of recovery and healing through yoga,” she says.

Why Austin?
I was born and raised in the greatest city in the world: Austin, Texas! I moved away during and after college, but eventually the city, the people, the queso, and my family all brought me back. Even though Austin is growing, its roots are still small-town. I love raising my two children here.

Who are your creative icons?
My creative icons are all of my yoga teachers who have dedicated their life’s work to this ancient practice. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. The journey I am on — the lessons, my en-tire path — is because of them.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
The best decisions aren’t always the easy ones. To lead with integrity, at times you have to make decisions that are incredibly difficult.

What inspires or drives you?
Making an impact on others. Yoga has helped me find a pathway of healing that I never thought was possible. I want others to find that spark, that light for themselves. Life can be really unexplainable and hard, and yoga has given me clarity, calmness, and the strength to cope and get through.

How do you get it all done?
With a village of incredible people — both at home, to help me raise my children, and at Wanderlust, to help take care of my yoga family. I would not be here without every single one of them.

How do you relax?
Besides yoga, on outdoor patios with a margarita on the rocks, queso, and live music.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
Meditation and journaling. There is so much clearing that happens through both of those processes.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Mi Madre’s, Grizzelda’s, Perla’s.

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink?
Hotel San José, Ah Sing Den, Ego’s. I’m a sucker for affordable drinks and karaoke!

What is your favorite outdoor spot to get away to?
My favorite outdoor spot is a bench overlooking the water along the trail around Lady Bird Lake. I jog or walk with my children, and at the end we always stop at a bench to pause, reflect, and take in the beauty of this city and the present moment.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
Another Wanderlust location! I am also working on co-creating my first inspirational women’s yoga retreat with some amazing and powerful people, as well as programs of healing through yoga for my fellow survivors. Stay tuned!

Jessica & J. Pieratt

Founders, Moss Pieratt Foundation

Tragedy struck the high school sweethearts turned parents three years ago, when they lost their son, Moss, to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC), when he was 15 months old. As a way to honor their son, they started MossFest, a children’s concert held before the ABC Kite Fest each year. “When first deciding what kind of fundraising event we wanted to plan, it was important to us to come up with an event that Moss would have enjoyed attending,” Jessica says. “He loved music as a baby and a toddler, and as I watched the kids smiling, singing, and dancing at MossFest two years ago, it felt like he would be proud of how we are choosing to honor his life.” J. works as an attorney and served as the Moss Pieratt Foundation’s president, as well as on the board of Generation Waller and other local groups, while Jessica is active in the community and a mother to their two daughters, the late Moss’ two younger sisters. Their devotion to each other and to honoring their son’s memory is an inspiration to all. For more information on their foundation, visit mosspierattfoundation.org.

Why Austin?
We grew up here and started dating while at Austin High. It is special and nostalgic to watch our kids enjoy the same things we did growing up, like riding the Zilker Zephyr, eating at Maudie’s, and walking through the Trail of Lights. Even though Austin has grown so much, it has still maintained a little bit of the small-town, friendly feel.

Who are your style and creative icons?
The people of Austin! This town welcomes every style, and I love stealing and compiling style ideas from watching other Austinites. My favorite thing about Austin is the casual atmosphere. I love that you can wear jeans or shorts into the nicest restaurant in town.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Life is full of phases. We have experienced so many highs and lows in the last five years. While we carry heavy hearts, we also have a deeper appreciation for the joys in life.

What inspires or drives you?
We joined a community of bereaved parents through the SUDC Foundation, which is full of families across the world who have lost children in ways similar to us. We are all left without an understanding of why our child died. Last May we attended the first SUDC medical conference in New York City, where we met many of these families and listened to presentations by many medical professionals dedicated to learning more about these deaths. This trip validated my passion for fundraising to support the efforts of the SUDC Foundation, from grief support to genetic testing. I am driven to find answers so that one day no other family will have to experience this pain.

How do you get it all done?
I don’t. Each day starts with a new checklist, and I rarely accomplish everything I hope to at the end of the day. I have to be prepared that grief can surprise you at any day or time, and taking time to be sad and remember Moss is more important than most other tasks.

How do you relax?
Every Friday night J. brings home a pizza. We try a new place each time — Austin has the best pizza — and we enjoy it with a bottle of wine after we put our daughters to bed. I look forward to this moment all week long.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
I ask for help! I am lucky to be surrounded by creative and successful friends and family members. I like to gather many different opinions before making any decision.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Perla’s, 34th Street Cafe, and Emmer & Rye.

What is your favorite outdoor spot to get away to?
The lakes in and around Austin. There is nothing more peaceful than being out on the water and looking out to the Texas Hill Country in the distance.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
We are so excited to move MossFest to take place on the Great Lawn during the ABC Kite Fest at Zilker Park. We can’t think of a better family-friendly atmosphere and are eager to share some of our new ideas while maintaining the wholesome feel and traditions of the oldest festival in Austin.

SaulPaul

Musician

SaulPaul calls himself a musician with a message, and he has brought his uplifting work for social good to the Kennedy Center and TED Talks. This year, he was named the Austinite of the Year at the Austin Under 40 Awards and shares big plans for 2018.

Why Austin?
I was born in Houston, but I was musically birthed in Austin. Because my music career started in Austin, it will always hold a special place in my heart. After graduating from UT, I moved to Los Angeles and then Atlanta, but I chose to relocate to Austin because I realized that I loved the community, culture, vibe, and weather.

Plus, like they say at my alma mater, “What starts here changes the world.”

Who are your style and creative icons?
Growing up, my grandmother was the most stylish person I knew. My cousin was the coolest and most creative.

Over time, the people who influenced me changed, but the principles remained the same. I’m attracted to and inspired by individuals who ignore tradition and convention and take pride in what makes them unique. I’m also moved by those who let their personality bleed through their style and art. I love when people are not afraid to be bold and push the limits. For me, it’s all about hav-ing confidence and valuing your originality!

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Dream even bigger.

What inspires or drives you?
I love seeing people do what they were born to do. To me that is awe-inspiring. And it inspires me to do the same.

How do you get it all done?
Prioritization is key. Avoid majoring in the minors. Work strategically, not just hard.

How do you relax?
Hang with the wifey. Netflix and chill. Literally. I like movies.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
I always have a lot going on. If I hit a wall on something, I’ll switch it up and start doing something else. When I stop, I tell myself that I’ll go back to it later when I’m fresh. I find that when I do that it usually works. I don’t force creativity. I like to let it flow.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Rudy’s barbecue, Fogo de Chão, and Eddie V’s.

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink?
Hotel Van Zandt, Boiler Nine, and Cover 3.

What is your favorite outdoor spot to get away to?
Mount Bonnell.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
I’m an artist and entrepreneur. As an artist, I’m excited to release more music, win more awards, go on more tours, and impact more lives. As an entrepreneur, I am the president and co-founder of my record label. We have an experiential marketing division that I oversee. As the leader of this division, I cultivate unique and lucrative business opportunities for brands, bands, and strategic partners. I’m currently curating tour partners for brand experiences for our spring and summer events. In 2018, I am excited to be doing more of that!

For more information, visit saulpaul.com.

Ryan Smith

Creative Director, McGuire Moorman Hospitality

The vibrant floral patterns of the Elizabeth Street Café uniforms, the red wagon Jeffrey’s martini cart that’s become the highlight of the annual Waller Creek Pop-Up picnic, or the unforgettable playlist that comes from June’s All Day’s beautiful juke box — these whimsical creative displays are all the mastermind of the impossibly stylish and imaginative Ryan Smith, the creative director for the McGuire Moorman Hospitality group. When he’s not coaching baseball for his son’s team (he has three children) or with his talented artist wife, Kelti, Smith enjoys “concepts for dream projects and figuring out how to make them happen.”

What have been some of your career highlights so far?
Designing my position as creative director in the hospitality business — which hadn’t been done before, to my knowledge at least. Being part of a company that has broken through from just restaurants to include retail and hotel projects to in-house creative and design work for others. It’s all been fun!

Why Austin?
Austin is the perfect playground for ideas. I’m surrounded by extremely talented individuals relentlessly working on projects in a city that encourages growth in the best way possible.

Who are your style and creative icons?
Ricky Henderson, my dad, Wes Anderson.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Don’t accept anything. Spend your life chasing all of your dreams.

What inspires or drives you?
Newness.

You create all the perfect playlists for MMH restaurants and ByGeorge. What are you listening to right now?
I love the new Mount Kimble (Love What Survives) and King Krule (The Ooz) records. It’s Clash punk meets jazzy guitar and dub step beats.

You have the best inspiration boards and seem to find inspiration everywhere. What are you currently feeling inspired by?
I’ve been really into 80’s graphic art and video like Max Hedroom Pepsi commercials and the original Blade Runner. The Yale School of Architecture Symposium posters are also super cool.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
A long run with a brand-new album I’m excited to hear for the first time!

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink?
Pool Burger, the Aristocrat Lounge, upstairs at Lamberts.

What is your favorite outdoor spot to get away to?
Colorado Bend State Park.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
Dang, I don’t know yet, but I sure like surprises!

For more information on MMH, visit mcguiremoorman.com.

Jackie Venson

Musician

It’s been a busy few years for blues musician Jackie Venson, the youngest of nine children, who studied classical piano at the Berklee College of Music. In 2014, she won the Belk Modern Southern Music competition, which led to other exciting opportunities, like being invited to sit in with Jon Batiste on a taping of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and then opening 10 shows for Gary Clark Jr. Venson says: “The live-music scene is nearly unmatched, with very few cities that can compete. I love how there’s always a gig somewhere to be had.”

Who are your style and creative icons?
I think Prince and David Bowie are rad when it comes to their wacky, colorful style. I love how Bowie constantly reinvented himself. He was such an incredible businessman who managed to per-fectly tie in his musical and creative side without one being crushed by the other.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Just chill and be happy, work hard, and be grateful for the fact that you can play music all the time.

What inspires or drives you?
The fear of being bored.

How do you get it all done?
I just do it. I sit down and I do it. It really is that simple.

How do you relax?
I like to write and practice the guitar, but I also like to play video games. I just recently bought myself a PS4, and now I have been geeking-out on “Fallout 4.”

What helps you get through creative blocks?
I can’t remember the last time I had one. I just keep all of my senses open, and I examine and consider every idea. Something always springs up from that. I just gotta be patient and grateful.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Thundercloud, El Secreto de la Abuela — “Grandma’s Secret”; the name cracks me up, but the food is delicious — and Salty Sow.

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink?
Prohibition Creamery, Geraldine’s, One-2-One Bar.

What is your favorite building or an outdoor spot to get away to?
I just love chillin’ in my backyard or out at my dad’s place in Lago Vista. Yay, privacy. Every now and then I will take my dog to the Zilker Park field with the big tree in the middle and throw the ball for him until the cops tell me he has to have a leash on. Yet another reason why I usually just hang at my family’s property.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
More music, more videos, more shows, more tours, same good vibes.

For more information, visit jackievenson.com.

Matt Williams

Vice President of Education, Goodwill of Central Texas

While living in New York City, Matt Williams, a Stanford grad, helped start a charter school in the South Bronx, where he served as principal for three years before moving to Austin to be the Vice President of Education at Goodwill Central Texas. The organization’s Goodwill Excel Center is the only school in Texas that offers a high school diploma to someone over the age of 25. With Williams at the helm, the adult high school grew to more than 500 students and opened a location in the Lockhart Correctional Facility for incarcerated women to earn a high school diploma.

Why Austin?
I live in Austin because my wife is from here. I am from a small town in Ohio. When we left NYC, it was an easy decision. I love that Austin is still unique — it works hard to hold onto its own local culture and unique character, which is disappearing everywhere else.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Know who you are and what you are great at. Once you are comfortable with that, you can effectively suppress your ego, bring in thought partners, and make a lot of really great things happen.

What inspires or drives you?
Designing social innovations. We focus too much time fixing our current systems, which even if perfected will not solve our deepest problems. So how do we build wide, failure-adaptive systems that allow people to empower themselves no matter where they are in life? I like finding plans for the people that society does not have a plan for.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
Graph paper and Uni-ball Vision Elite pens. I sketch my favorite Donald Judd print series until I figure out what to do. Most of my ideas arrive through messy diagrams and arrows. It takes a brilliant team at Goodwill to help me translate them for mass consumption.

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Justine’s is perfect every time. The bar at Jeffery’s is one of my favorite rooms in Austin. Maudie’s — it would be weird if I didn’t say this, because I end up there once a week, and it’s definitely my kids’ favorite restaurant.

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink?
Clark’s for happy hour. Nickel City — it’s like they read my diary. Doc’s on 38th — everyone needs a sports bar close to their house.

What is your favorite outdoor spot to get away to?
Big Bend. It’s isolated and far enough away that you cannot carry stress there. It is magic.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
Expanding Goodwill’s high school and career certification programs to as many people as we can. I am also getting more involved in making sure we have pathways and plans for incarcerated individuals before they are released to try and decrease recidivism. There is a lot of work to do there, but a lot of opportunity to partner with other experts and make real change happen.

For more information, visit goodwillcentraltexas.org.

Cameron Campbell

Landscape Architect, Campbell Landscape Architecture

Before starting his own landscape architecture firm, San Antonio native Cameron Campbell trained with some of the greats in the field, starting with Peter Walker of PWP Landscape Architecture out of Berkeley, California. While with PWP, Campbell worked on a number of notable projects, including the National September 11 Memorial in New York City and the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco. When Campbell and his wife, Anne, returned to Austin, he joined Ten Eyck Landscape Architects. “Christy Ten Eyck is a truly talented individual dedicated to improving our natural environment and a thought leader in our field of work,” Campbell says. When Campbell isn’t designing stunning modern landscapes for his own company, Campbell Landscape Architecture, that he recently started several months ago, he enjoys painting and going on adventures around the city with Anne and their three children.

Why Austin?
Austin is filled with energetic people, many of whom are involved in creative endeavors. I loved this city when I first moved here my freshman year in college because it was on the pulse cre-atively, and I find that it still is! I love how the art scene here has grown; it’s a scene I’m currently working on breaking into, as a matter of fact.

Who are your style and creative icons?
These days I am finding much inspiration from the minimalist art movement of the 1960s and ’70s. Artists such as Frank Stella, Donald Judd, and Michael Heizer have taught me how simple ideas can have great impact when executed flaw-lessly. The exploratory process and rigor these artists applied to their work resonates with me.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you five years ago?
Be true to yourself and take risks! I’ve heard that quite a bit along the way, and I’m finally listening to that advice. It feels good!

How do you relax?
Yard work, constructing things, and my artwork all help me relax.

What helps you get through creative blocks?
It sounds cliché, but a run around the block can often open the creative floodgates!

What are your three favorite restaurants in Austin?
Pool Burger is hands down my new favorite — the burgers, the tiki drinks, the Bob Marley playing loudly. If I squint, I can almost believe I’m in the Florida Keys.

What are your three favorite places to go for a drink?
Does my home count? When I’m not working or spending time with my family, you’ll probably find me chilling at home after hours with a nightcap.

What should we expect from you in 2018?
Besides taking on more interesting work, I hope to have a freshly revamped website and maybe even the business Instagram account my wife keeps bugging me about!

For more information, visit campbellla.com.

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