Today we’d like to introduce you to Catalina Gutierrez.
Catalina, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always been an artsy and crafty person. I started painting at a young age, and art was always a part of my life as my mother is an artist too and worked as an art teacher for many years. Nevertheless, I decided to study Communications and combined my job in the PR business for many years, with studio time. Once I was pregnant with my first son, 8 years ago, I decided to start my own company, Redviolet Studio, where I painted murals for children’s rooms and small watercolors to decorate the walls. This really made me happier than my day job in the entertainment business.
About 4 years ago, Redviolet Studio morphed into what it is now: a mobile art experience for toddlers and children from 12 months up. It all started with a friend who loved seeing all of my creative endeavors with Martin, my oldest son, who was a toddler at the time. She asked me to teach an art class for children at the indoor playground she directed. Even though I’ve always LOVED children and art, I was scared to accept, as my belief was that doing these kind of activities with your own children is different than doing it with other kids. Well, I was so wrong and there was nothing to be scared of. 3 weeks later I was LOVING it and what had started as 1 class ended up in 3 filled up classes with a wait list. And that was it, it was love at first sight. Besides the art classes for children 3-7 yo that I was teaching then, I developed a class for little ones, 12m-3yo which I called Art Mommy&Me. This is a fun sensory art&play class that has been a big success since the beginning and is very much inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to education, a student-centered, experiential learning experience that is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery. How I fell in love with this approach is a separate story that involves a long quest for the perfect school for my first born.
My belief is that children are powerful and independent little humans and that we have to give them the space, tools and the trust so they can explore freely and feel empowered. In my classes kids exercise countless skills such as divergent and creative thinking, problem solving, fine motor, hand-eye coordination, among many others.
Redviolet Studio is everything to me, not only as a business but as a lifestyle. I love spending time doing artsy activities with my kids, and juggle these with a busy schedule of classes and art birthday parties too. It’s not work when you love what you do right? I now have 2 boys who are 5 and 7 years old, and my goal as a parent is to raise them in a creative environment where they can lead their own learning, always fostering their curiosity. Sharing my passion with children has been a game changer for me and I always strive to inspire them in every possible way.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s been lots of challenges along the way. All my life I had worked for somebody else, so being a business owner was something new for me and it took time to adjust to a different schedule plus the driving from one place to another since my studio is 100% mobile. The biggest challenge as a mom, wife and business owner has been time management; trying to juggle and balance the time I spend preparing and doing my classes, with the time I devote to my boys and husband, as well as the time I spend with myself and friends. I am at a point where I have been able to make it work as best as I can, and I feel like I am finally in a really good place and that makes me happy.
My most current struggle is figuring out the perfect system to scale my business, so I can reach more children, schools and communities, thus spreading the love for the arts and the importance of raising creative kids. This is a work in progress and it has not been easy, especially because I have always been doing everything myself and putting so much love and effort into everything I do.
Redviolet Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Redviolet Studio is a mobile art experience for children 12 months and up. I offer sensory art and play classes in the mornings which are called Art Mommy & Me. I do these at The Stop Parenting Alone Center in Coral Gables and also privately at houses, where moms gather together with their little ones for an hour long class filled with fun open ended activities, where children explore and discover on their own, while connecting with their moms, dads or caregivers.
In the afternoons I mix it up a little, conducting the afterschool art program at KLA Schools of Brickell, where I offer fun process art classes for children 3-7 years old. Besides these, I also do private sessions from my home art studio and spend the rest of the afternoons with my boys at soccer and dance lessons.
Weekends can be busy too as I also offer art birthday parties which are the most fun celebrations filled with art and exploration for children 12 months and up.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
More than one single proud moment I would say I have many proud little moments. Moments where I fell a sense of happiness and accomplishment; like a little pat in the back that tells me I am doing something right.
I experience quite a few of these and its specifically when I see children, who had sensory issues or weak fine motor skills excel little by little and overcome their fears. In one of my last sensory classes I had this little guy who had been coming for at least 3 months and had never wanted to touch the paint or anything sticky. After about 6 classes he started approaching the paint, first with a brush, and most lately with his hands!! Both his mom and I were as proud and excited as can be! And like these, there’s so many more stories that bring a smile to my face.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.redvioletstudio.com
- Phone: 7863400393
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @redvioletstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cata.redvioletcreations
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