Katie Clemente: Color Queen, Philanthropist, and Entrepreneur
Katie Clemente is not only a furniture refinisher who breathes life into old furnishings, she also has made a whole business teaching others the techniques she has learned over the years. She has a fantastic website and large web presence–over 40,000 likes on Facebook!! *GASP* From a person who is just starting out–the shear amount of work and dedication it takes to get to that point is really daunting. I can really appreciate just how much she has put into her business!
You may be wondering why I am featuring a furniture refinisher on my website… well by now you may be noticing a trend that I love vibrant/tacky/gaudy/fabulous/beautiful/loud/obnoxious COLORS! Katie doesn’t do your run-of-the-mill furniture refinishing. She takes bland old furniture and usually douses it in bold colors! She layers different colors of paint onto a piece and then sands away layers exposing different colors. To me, she is making modern antiques. It looks aged and weathered but new! You will see bright blues, magentas, lime greens and more in her pieces. She uses tons of various techniques and tools.
“I feel like my work is always evolving. I try to learn as much as possible so I can try new techniques in strange color combinations. Since I work on canvas and furniture I use a ton of different tools for my techniques. For both canvas and furniture I’d have to say a spray bottle, as strange as that sounds.”
Katie started painting on canvas as a means of therapy. “I was around 14 years old. My father had passed away when I was 13 and I was having troubles talking about what was going on. One day my mom brought home a box of paints she got from a thrift store, and told me if I wasn’t going to talk to anyone then I at least needed a creative outlet. I started painting and never looked back.” She tried to sell her paintings, which actually lead to refinishing furniture. “I have always played around with painting and refurbishing, but the main reason I started to paint on furniture is because my canvas artwork wasn’t selling as much as I would have liked.
I figured if I made furniture my canvas and focused on creating functional art, then people would be more willing to purchase.” Her canvas paintings are quite beautiful as well, but from experience–it’s pretty hard to break into selling your own original paintings :\ Her painted furniture is extremely unique which is probably why she is having so much success with it!
How did Katie develop such a knack for color? “Growing up we moved quite a bit. I was born in Connecticut, moved to South Carolina for several years, then South Dakota, North Carolina, and South Carolina again. After my dad’s death we moved a lot, my mom was always looking for adventure and always open to new possibilities. I feel like being around her allowed for me to grow up in a very open minded environment, allowing me to explore artistically without judgement.” Katie also feels as though her love of bold colors has come from dealing with darkness. “It’s hard not to be inspired by the things in your life you’ve overcome. I’d say in the last few years especially I’ve been inspired by how far I’ve come. I always say that I paint with tons of color because for a long time I felt like I was always surrounded by darkness.”
Despite not always being in the best position to help out and sometimes dealing with her own struggles, Katie uses her large social media following as a sounding board to raise money for others who are in dire need of help. This is something I’ve witnessed on Katie’s Facebook feed time and time again. I have not seen any other artists use their presence in this way. “I just try to help when I can. I have had some struggles in my own life that truly humbled me. I think if people have the opportunity to help, they absolutely should. Even if I still am struggling, I always try to give back. All it takes is a random act of kindness to make someone else’s day.”
Want to learn Katie’s exclusive techniques? Are you in need of new bold and inspiring ideas for your house? Check out her website (www.KatieClementeStudios.com), Follow her Facebook.com/KatieClementeStudios and view her Instagram @KatieClementeStudios !
