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

Hi Karla, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was to ultimately do what I loved-creating glass art and sharing it with others. Once I made the decision, I found out that it is a constant battle to get your work seen, be in the right shows and galleries and just fining your customers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others in my art, is the way I see a piece or pattern play out. Putting unexpected pieces in a panel to bring visual interest is what I love. One of my most proud moments was having my geode wine glasses selected for a online catalog and being featured in their advertisement. As a independent artist, one of the things I had always strived for was recognition and having my artwork seen by many. Well, the wine glasses were seen by many and sold over 10,000 glasses during my contracted time. Having that experience gave me the momentum to get back into the studio and creating new pieces. Getting to where I am today has not been easy; it has taken time to create my artwork and time to produce it as well as market it. I have learned you have to prioritize and set schedules; for example, Monday will be for photographing pieces and getting them listed in my Etsy shop and pictures on social media. It is a process. At the end of the day, you have to be happy with your artwork and some days are better than others. My medium of stained glass is a slow process due to the nature of the art, but so rewarding once completed.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My best friend lives in a small town so the first place I would take her is Ft. Worth. We would watch the cattle drive then go to Billy Bob’s for some good Texas fun. Best to be there on the weekend for some live music too! We would have to go to Al Biernat’s for a fabulous dinner-eating there is such a treat and everyone makes you feel like a queen. The food is always excellent and the restaurant is beautiful. A trip to the Dallas Art Museum would be on the itinerary with a stop at the Dallas Farmers market for food and goodies. I love going to the Bishop Arts district with all the fun boutiques and cafes too. Always a treasure to be had. We would spend a afternoon on the lake paddle boarding and hanging out since that is what my summer weekends often look like. The Bush Library is a fun stop as well so would put that on the list. Knowing my best friend like I do, she would certainly get a laugh out of the Truckyard and the toilet seat museum-it’s fun spot to spend warm afternoons listening to music and people watching.

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?
My family! My husband has always been so kind in all this-he would share my excitement when I completed a project and always was there to bounce ideas off of and give me much needed constructive criticism. My daughters and their spouse have also been so wonderful and have helped me in so many ways to chase my dream. And I can’t leave out my parents-without their own artistic ideas, I’m not sure if I would have been brave enough to start out on my own.

Website: www.kuklebeans.com
Instagram: Kuklebeans
Linkedin: Karla Walz
Twitter: Kleiwalz
Facebook: Kuklebean’s Creative Glass