Meet Kristin Bazan: Woman ● Wife ● Mother ● Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Bazan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk has played a great role in my life and career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it! I took a huge risk when following my passion of photography and getting a BFA in Studio Art, when I could have done something safer and pursued a degree in Business or Marketing. But I told myself if I was going to spend 4 years going to school, and figuring out how to pay for it, I was going to study something I loved. I threw myself into it and told myself I would figure it out. And I’ve had that mentality ever since. Every big and important decision in my life has involved taking a risk, and figuring things out along the way. I don’t tell myself I can’t do something, or if I do I don’t ever let it stop me. Because while I may deal with my anxiety on a daily basis, it isn’t a reason for me to stop going after what I want. My husband and I talk about this a lot actually. I tell him almost on a daily basis that it doesn’t matter if you “fail”, what matters is you keep trying and learning. And that in and of itself involves risk. It’s a risk to put yourself out there when you know it’s easier and safer to phone it in because it opens you up to being vulnerable. But that’s where the magic happens, when you keep pushing through the bullshit to get where you want to be. Once you’ve done that, every risk you took is so worth it. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What excites me most about my career is I’m always learning. If I’m not learning I kind of feel like I’m wasting my time. And hopefully that doesn’t come across negative or like I’m ungrateful. I very much enjoy being challenged and feeling like I used my brain, and I didn’t just run through the motions of my day. (However, I’m a new parent so my attitude about this might change! 😛) I also have a very strategic mindset, which can be very challenging at times. I can see the bigger picture a lot sooner that most people, and it’s hard to stay patient while the rest catch up. But I’m working on that patience because I’ve found when people are able to meet you at the end conclusion in their own time, things go over a lot better. They are ready to hear what it is that you have to say. Getting to where I am today was easy, but not easy at the same time. What made it easy, going back to the first question, was taking risks. When I see an opportunity I’m interested in I go after it really hard. Once I’ve set my eyes on a goal, nothing can really stop me. So, I guess it isn’t a matter of was it easy or not easy, but am I willing to put in the work to get what I want. And man, has there been some work put in! I probably averaged 60 hour work weeks for several years in my early career, that come to find out really was not healthy for me physically or mentally. So I’ve set better boundaries around that. I’ve also taken on a role before that was a huge step up for me, not really knowing if I could do it. But I did, and I kicked ass at it, even though it scared me in the beginning. Even that has encouraged me more to take risks because it’s made me believe in myself more than I did before. I just accepted a new role, 5 months after having a baby, during a pandemic. Talk about a challenge! But I’m so so excited because I’ve wanted to work for this brand for about 10 years. The timing wasn’t right before, and now it is. All of those people I mentioned before, and all of those risks I took, have led me here and it’s something I don’t take lightly. I believe things work out how they are supposed to IF you put in the work and leave nothing on the table.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Coffee – Pearl Cup, Sons of Liberty, Craftwork, Ampersand Eat – PACIFIC TABLE!!! I could eat here everyday. Gotta get the Pacific Dip! Little Lilly Sushi, Fixe, Spice, Fixture… Dammit, now I’m hungry Dessert – Melt, Creamistry, SusieCakes Drink – The Usual, Republic Bar, HopFusion Visit – Modern Art Museum, Kimball Art Museum, Amon Carter Museum, Botanical Gardens, Water Gardens, Airfield Falls, Nature Center & Refuge

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh damn, who DOESN’T deserve credit in my story is the real question! Kenda North was one of my photography professors at UTA that led me to my first job out of college. There I met Brenna Wilson, who led me to my next job at Heritage and we’ve recently reconnected for some freelance work. From there I met Colleen McInerny, who has continued to be a mentor and great friend to me; Alexandra Fraler, who greatly supported me through my first pregnancy and is really an amazing woman; Cameron Goodpaster, who led me to Pier 1 and sends me the funniest things on the internet. Once at Pier 1 I really started to flourish, and honestly grew the hell up. I stayed there for 7 years and it was because of the people. I had a remarkable manager who challenged me in all of the right ways. She changed my perspective on so many things and I owe her a great deal of my success. She also happened to marry my husband in her front yard during this crazy as hell pandemic! Her name is Claire Browning. I really could go on and on about all of the people who have me along the way. I am so lucky to have found so many!

Website: http://www.kristinebazan.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbaz/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinebazan/
Other: http://vsco.co/kristinebazan