Quizzing the Creatives: Katie Searle-Williams
The lovely Katie Searle-Williams and her husband Nathan Williams are the creative minds behind their blog Hearblack, and the beautifully crafted Kinfolk Magazine.How does a typical work day pan out for you?The first half of the day includes meetings, emails, and catching up on correspondence – which can be very time consuming, but is also very important! We also try to get nitty gritty tasks out of the way during this time as well. The second half of the day we try to leave a bit more unstructured to allow for innovation and creativity – the development stage.Where do you turn to for inspiration?Inspiration for magazine content comes from everyday occurrences, and additionally, ideas submitted from our readers. As for the inspiration for the design of the magazine, we want the elements of the design to resemble an old novel – to encourage the reader to sit down and read it like a book. To review it pensively and thoughtfully – instead of giving it a quick peruse like traditional magazines.What has been your most interesting project to date?Currently we (my husband Nathan and I) are busy with Kinfolk Magazine. We love what we're doing and feel so lucky to be creating something that resonates with us so deeply. Food is something that spans cultures, boundaries and differences. It is something that all living things have in common. It is so powerful; it is a tool for peace and finding common ground. It is an icebreaker, a conversation starter, a comforter. Preparing and giving someone else food is an act of sharing love and life. For us, we use it as a means of connecting and building relationships and community – with each other as a couple – but also with those around us. This is the premise behind the magazine and what we hope to share with others. Nathan and KatieThe ultimate song to work to?The Paper Kites – Woodland.Best part about what you do?All the people! Finally meeting those we've been working with online from across the world in person. Putting a face and personality to the many emails (we have over 55 contributing artists per issue from all over the map) is such a highlight. These connections have brought us many friends and treasured relationships.What would be your dream creative project?We love what we're doing and don't know where we'll be next, but we are trying hard to enjoy the present, whilst always knowing that there is much potential in the future! Image from Kinfolk Dinner SeriesFavourite city in the world?This is a hard question. Every place has its own unique charm. Places also hold different memories and sometimes those memories and stories stand out more than the city itself. I can't answer for Nathan, but I love Caux, Switzerland. A tiny little village on a hillside that overlooks Lake Geneva. It's full of charm – it even has wandering sheep with bells around their necks.Where is your favourite escape?Anywhere in nature!Favourite way to spend a Saturday?With friends, exploring. Either in the city, hopping antique shops and thrift stores, or outdoors wandering around trails and getting dirty. Of course, we love food – so our activities are always paired with or focused around a tasty meal or snack.What was your most memorable meal?One of the first meals I made for Nathan when we were officially man and wife – a pesto potato dish – stands out in my mind. It wasn't very good, it was more of a side than a main course, and it took me a while to figure out the whole process. This meal was a right of passage for me, mostly. I really had to find myself and my role in our relationship at that point and put a lot of love into cooking those early meals. I still do, but it's different – it was so new, and a grounding part of our marriage for Nathan to eat the charred food I'd turn out and know I made it with so much love. We threw quite a few of my experiments away as I was learning to cook for two – but we had such great times trying new things and learning about each other and sustaining each other.Images thanks to Katie Searle-Williams.
