Meet the Staff: Communications Coordinator, Kaiti Neuman
Q: What is your name and role at ArtUs Co?
A: I’m Kaiti Neuman, and I’m a sales associate as well as the communications coordinator for ArtUs Co.
Q: What goes into your role? How do you determine what to include in the newsletter?
Neuman helping during a gallery installation. Photo by Maggie Lyon.
A: I help out around the store, and I also manage the blog section of our website and come up with and compile the newsletter content. We decide content as a team, but I make sure to include upcoming events that we’re hosting so our subscribers don’t miss anything they might be interested in. Other than that, so far most of our content has been introductory so people can get to know who we are behind the storefront and meet some of our vendors and current featured solo artists. It’s important to us that our supporters know exactly who and what they’re supporting, and that’s why we’ve started the newsletter. Also, when I’m really nice, Maggie lets me help out with gallery installations. :)
Q: Tell me about your favorite part of the job.
A: I love being surrounded by locally made things and supporting Texan artists, and constantly meeting people who are so talented and passionate about their crafts is remarkably uplifting and inspiring. I’ve always been in love with the art world, and to be so actively involved in it myself is a bit like being in a dream. That being said, I love the people I work with, and they’ve become some of my closest pals. Not to mention they tolerate my spontaneous dancing and bad jokes without a complaint, and they let me wig out over my favorite new products and pieces.
Q: What are you most likely to be doing when you’re not working?
Neuman holding her cat, Queen Elizabeth or “Lizzie.” Photo by Niki Silva.
A: I’m a homebody for the most part, so I’ll usually be on my couch watching episodes of Gilmore Girls, Friends, Seinfeld, Sex & The City, You, or The Nanny for the upteenth time with my 16-year-old cat, Queen Elizabeth, sitting next to me and a hot cup of tea in my hand. I also religiously watch Arden Rose on Twitch and love bonding with the Internet friends I’ve made from her channel. I also like reading books that make me do some self-reflection, books about World War II, biographies, or books about meditation/tarot/other hippie stuff. When I do manage to get myself out of the apartment for something other than work, I like to grab a friend and go to the park, get coffee, or just walk around downtown, South Congress, or The Domain having introspective conversations. I’m also a total sucker for Chinese takeout and Whataburger (specifically, their mustard) and frequently try to talk my roommate into eating one of the two for dinner—and frequently succeed.
Q: How did you end up at ArtUs Co?
A: I actually had never heard of ArtUs Co until my parents drove by it and asked me about it one day! These kinds of places are right up our alley, so we decided to stop in and poke around. I was out of work at the time, and I loved it so much that I asked the person working the register that day—who happened to be Maggie Lyon, our gallery curator and my now-close friend—if they were hiring, and the rest is history.
Q: Do you have a favorite vendor at the moment?
A: Ohhhhh shoot. I really do love our wide variety of vendors, and the ones I’ve met are all incredible people with completely different styles and stories. At the moment, I really love South of Here Co. because, as a native Texan, I have a soft spot for leather goods, but I’ve always been against the animal cruelty that is too often involved. Since South of Here Co. uses ethically-sourced leather from tanneries that wait for cows to pass from natural causes, I can get the best of both worlds. Also, I’m in love with their baby boy, Owen. He’s now my best friend.
Neuman with galley curator, Maggie Lyon, at the opening reception for Alexis Hunter’s solo exhibition, “BINARY (An Exploration of the In-Between)” at ArtUs Co. Photo by Shelby Sult.
I also love love love Tiny Happy Clay’s incredibly original ceramic mugs, and all of Curious Prints’ products are lined right up with my interests in botanical art and mysticism. I also have several jewelry pieces by Rose Burkhardt, and I’ve been eyeing some earrings by Katie Kismet. Chris Gomez from Kaiju Cut & Sew uses the best cadmium red on his products and always lets me play with his corgi. Kathy Phantastic happens to have a sticker that looks just like my cat, Queen Elizabeth, which now lives on my laptop. I wear roll-on perfume from Feto Soap daily, and I’ve been drinking White Cloud Tea’s tea blends by the gallon and going through their incense like there’s no tomorrow. I could name more, but ...how much time do I have?
Q: What kinds of things do you see yourself doing in the future?
A: For the most part, I had always been someone who knew almost exactly what I wanted to do. In more recent years, however, I’ve realized I have a wide variety of creative career interests and no idea which I want to pursue first. I’m planning to eventually move to New York, and I’d love to work for a magazine of some sort, ideally in the fashion, travel, and/or pop culture genres (Hi, Condé Nast, let’s be friends). But like I said, there are so many things I can see myself doing, so who really knows! I’d also love to be able to utilize my journalism degree and sociology minor, as well as the knowledge of the art world that I’ve picked up from ArtUs Co. As long as I can do something with some amount of creativity and decent socialization—and I can do exciting things like pay rent and buy groceries and feed my cat—I’ll be happy!