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Small Contribution

If only I could spend my days writing

head buried in the empty pages of possibility

I yearn so badly to share this beautiful existence

some days I write furiously in spite of the short time we’re allotted.

I know my contributions are small but true

and every moment in appreciation of this life

is worth sharing to preserve its beauty.

-k. thompson

Hello There!

Welcome. I'm Katie, and I'm so pleased that you're here.

As for me, I'm the owner and creator behind Black Swamp, a multimedia creative studio based outside of Charleston, SC.

I've created this newsletter to serve as a place to share more of my writing, creative projects, thoughts and musings. And there are a lot!

I've been writing and creating since before I had a working memory. While my professional pursuits have always leaned more towards the business side of creativity, I've always felt the call to express myself. As a kid I loved to write poetry and short stories for school contests. The pragmatism of life shifted my focus to journalism in high school. Graduating from College of Charleston with a BA in Communications in 2009 I was then focused on marketing, PR, and developing voices for totally new platforms on social media, as well as building a business with my husband, furniture maker Joseph Thompson.

I spent a few years working as a PR professional for different industries, and focused on building our family. In the meantime I published a children's woodworking book, Little Beaver Builds a Bed. I also started the Women of Woodworking project to feature interviews with hundreds of women, trans and non-binary makers from around the world. We became programming partners with The Furniture Society, and I eventually joined and still currently serve on the TFS Board of Trustees.

I have learned that I truly love helping other people share their stories, and I feel the need to get back to my own creative writing more strongly than ever. I founded my creative studio Black Swamp in 2013 originally as a handcrafted jewelry and accessories line made from the offcuts of our furniture making. Since then I've explored so many mediums from digital art to watercolors, and I am excited to finally have a place where I can combine all of these interests and share them with you!

On a personal note, I am also a disabled woman living in the modern, rural south. My creative practice is based on exploring abstractions of space and self from this unique perspective. I have a spinal cord injury, and am a bacterial meningitis survivor. As a patient advocate I work with organizations across the globe to share my story and help defeat meningitis. My outer abilities do not always match my inner enthusiasm, but this newsletter is an accessible way not only to connect with others and share what excites me, but hopefully a way to help educate, inform, and inspire.

If you're interested in topics from media to food, social justice to poetry, art, pop culture and anything that stirs the spirit - then I hope you'll join me for the ride. For now I plan to share on a weekly basis, focusing on some exclusive paid content for subscribers with some freebies in there too. To subscribe for $5 a month, please click here.​

I greatly appreciate any and all support in making this project possible. As a disabled creative I am really excited to try and grow this space thats all my own. I like to think of it as a little treehouse of wonders we get to escape to - and the possibilities are endless! Thanks for stopping by.

'Till next time,

Katie T.

P.S. If you'd like to see more of my personal work, visit my website ktthompson.com.