What’s better than a kick ass design team/couple? NOTHING. Hillary Harrison and Dan Davis of Kin Ship Press are just more proof that being interesting people makes you bound to do interesting work. We asked them a couple of uber serious questions so that we could get acquainted. Also…there’s a GIVEAWAY involved! WOOHOO!
Kin Ship Press is generously giving one lucky reader a set of counting sheep pillowcases (aww!) and another reader a lovely framed print called Visitors.
All you need to do is comment below. Tell us what item you’d love to have and we’ll pick a winner next week. You may get extra points for re-tweeting, too! Contest closes on Friday, 8/12 and winners will be announced the following Monday. GOOD LUCK!
So, back to the interview.
What’d we learn? Honestly, these guys are talented AND funny and if we’re ever in Louisville, well, I just invited myself over for bacon and bunny pasta. DEAL WITH IT, KSP.
Can you give us just a bit of background on yourselves and Kin Ship Press?
Hillary Harrison: Dan was born in Germany, grew up in Idaho, moved to Louisville as a tween. I (Hillary) grew up in West Virginia, moved to Louisville when I was 19. (I’m 31 now. Dan is 27.) We started making things under the name Kin Ship Press in late 2009.
I’d just like to interject here – older women rule.
How did you make the decision to work together?
Hillary: I can’t really remember…
Dan: Well, I do. When we met, we didn’t know a whole lot of people who were “do-ers” if you will. So, being like minded in that way, it made sense that we team up. We started first with an art gallery, The Kin Ship, which was fun while we did it, but after awhile we wanted to focus on making things of our own. And since we don’t really like doing things half-assed, the gallery got cut and we started making things full time.
What items do you keep at your bedside?
HH: Poor Dan doesn’t have a bedside table. He’s just stuck with the wall because I have to get up and pee like every 8 minutes. I have a bedside table, but there’s not really anything on it. Just a sad empty coaster right now. I used to keep a glass of water there, but Percy the Cat kept knocking it over in the middle of the night.
DD: She said it. I got the wall.
What meal do you cook for people you love?
HH: I don’t like to cook, but if I like you enough, I can make a mean pot of bunny pasta & peas.
DD: For people I love, I like to cook (or cut) crunchy bread with dipping oil, fancy cheese, apples, and blackberries. I can also make the house smell pretty great with some bacon. That’s how I do.
Describe how living in Louisville helps you and how does it frustrate you (since most cities seem to do both).
DD: Hmmm, Our friends are great, food here is good, rent is cheap, and there are a lot of parks. That stuff helps us stay in a good mood.
HH: I guess that leaves me with the frustrating… One thing that I’ve noticed since moving to Louisville is that some of the “creative types” here take themselves really seriously. Not that things should always be fun and ridiculous, far from it, but there is sometimes a weird sense of entitlement & self-importance among artsy types. It can leave you feeling kind of icky and just not wanting to be part of it. But, luckily there are also super supportive, encouraging, and inspiring people here too.
If you had a billion dollars, what would kin ship press look like (if in fact, you haven’t f-ed off to fiji)?
DD: Well, Fiji sounds pretty good, but if all the flights were booked up, I guess Kin Ship would be in a refitted classic farm house, on a nice piece of land, with a new studio/wood shop made out of some cargo containers. I also cannot rule out a couple of cute donks.
HH: I don’t need a billion dollars, but if I had just a small fraction of a billion, I would definitely want all of the things that DD mentioned above. And I might as well get a cargo container to house the darkroom I’ve been dreaming of. And I’d like a little greenhouse. And a beagle named Baxter. And our friend Amber can raise goats on the farm and make soaps and frolic with the donks or whatever she wants to do. And our friends Ashley and Brent could run a bed and breakfast nearby. And I’d probably buy a new computer for Kin Ship, one with a screen that doesn’t flicker.
DD – what kind of a ruckus do you make?
Ruckus of the music variety. I don’t really know how to play anything, but that doesn’t stop me.
HH – cat naps or naps that last for hours? And how do you do it?
It’s more like little sleep attacks. I can be in mid conversation & then out cold. I can also sleep just about anywhere. My first job in Louisville was at Walgreens and I mastered the art of sleeping while standing because we weren’t allowed to sit down. My favorite place to sleep-stand there was in the pipe tobacco aisle because it smelled real good.
Thanks, Kin Ship! And good luck to you readers out there!
