January 6, 2020

Meet Kari Cureton of Sarit + State Creative Studio, LLC in East County

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kari Cureton.

Kari, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was younger I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, including my career. I was a poet and an artist, but what could you do with those skills to make a living? I grew up in New Hampshire and when I was twenty I moved to San Diego. Up until that point I had been waitressing for a living and struggling to make ends meet. I decided to switch up my lifestyle and started as a temp at the county of San Diego, answering phones full time and taking the bus to and from work. I continued to get better paying jobs working as a receptionist and eventually, over a few years time, became an office manager of an environmental company.

I had studied fine art off and on at junior colleges but always had something pull me away from it. On a day when I was particularly frustrated at my job, I thought about what I was doing there, and why I wasn’t doing something creative for a living. I began looking online for careers in the arts and landed on graphic design. I figured that if I was going to sit at a desk anyway at least I could be creative. I went to Platt college over by SDSU to learn more and signed up within a week.

I continued to work at my full-time job and went to school at night for graphic design. There were a lot of different people there who were like me – trying to make this a full-time job. I would work all day, go to school at night, then come home and work on my projects. I was around 26 years old at this time, so I had the energy to keep going and the motivation to not stop. After about a year and a half I began interviewing for jobs and landed one at a small engineering firm that needed an in-house graphic designer. I graduated with an associate’s degree not long after and continued making my way up the graphic design ladder.

Many years and companies passed and I found I wasn’t satisfied again. In addition to my full-time job as a designer I was also working on creative projects on the side. After I had my second child I decided it was time to venture out on my own and took the leap (with the support of my husband!). I turned my “on-the-side” projects into a full-time business. Starting with whatever I could get to bidding on bigger, more lucrative work. I teamed up with a web developer and began designing websites.

Owning a business has been very rewarding. I am able to stretch my creativity by working on different brands and with different companies. I work with a lot of business owners and help them realize their dreams of starting their own company or product. There are definitely challenges that come with running your own business, but they far out-weigh the satisfaction I feel doing what I am passionate about.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest challenge I’ve had has been work/life balance. I have two kids, a six and twelve year-old, and have been married for fourteen years. I love being with my family, but I also need time for myself to remember who I am and what I like outside of our family unit.

A few years ago I started doing Spartan races and that has really been a great outlet for me. I plan my weeks and weekends so that I have time to meet deadlines, train, and spend time with the family. You may find me on a mountainside at 6am on a Saturday while everyone is sleeping, or at the kickboxing gym for an hour workout in the evening in between my kids’ sporting events and commitments. My husband and I will workout in our garage sometimes during the week and take our kids on Sunday hikes.

This last year I completed two Spartan trifecta and ran my first trail Ragnar. I seem to find myself when I am in nature pushing my body and mind to its limit. A lot of these things inspire my work and help me be a better parent. I am able to teach my kids how to set goals and achieve them. How to push through fear and overcome mental hurdles. How to support someone who needs help over an obstacle, whether it be on the course or in life. Many of these lessons also apply to running my business.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sarit + State Creative Studio, LLC – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Sarit + State Creative Studio helps elevate businesses by creating effective brands and websites. We work primarily with non-profits, small businesses, and start-ups. We specialize in websites, design and marketing, providing a full-service experience for our clients. We can take an idea and turn it into something tangible using the latest technology, custom/original design, and offering advice and guidance along the way.

We are most proud of our clients! We love working with non-profits that are doing good in the world, small businesses that are passionate about they are doing and entrepreneurs that are excited to realize their product or new company. All of our clients are hard working, dedicated, and love their communities. We are super proud to be a part of that.

What sets us apart is our collaborative spirit. We are very team-oriented and work one-on-one with our clients. We are a small group of creative and technical professionals that work our darndest to help businesses realize their vision.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our plans are to continue to grow our client base and eventually design a product of our own! Once we figure out what that is, we will do it!

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