Kaarin Howard | Little Braap Racer

As a young adult, a youthful restlessness led Kaarin Howard to leave her hometown of Pullman and travel the world. It was an experience that greatly expanded her perspective, but it was also jarring, and she found herself looking for a way to work through those feelings. “Art was easily my greatest ally in processing those experiences and became a place where I could freely express myself at a young age,” she says, “and has continued to be such a place.”

For the fine artist, illustrator and prolific photographer, Little Braap Racer is an opportunity to channel those aesthetic pursuits through graphic design into product design. It’s a process that starts analog and goes digital, she says, “Usually equipped with a pencil and paper and moving that into Photoshop and Illustrator.” To make the pins and earrings that made her a hit at last month’s Bazaar art market, the process moves back into the tactile. “Designing enamel pins is a way to take art that normally remains digital, and making something concrete out of it,” she says. “Seeing my designs evolve into something 3D is one of the greatest feelings.”

And while she has been back in the Inland Northwest for years, that restlessness remains. She just  channels it into the work. “Whenever I find myself in a period of time where I haven’t been actively creative for awhile, it gets into my attitude and negatively effects how I feel,” she says. “It’s always been an avenue for processing and release for me, and is a way for me to create what and how I want.”

Her goal is to broaden Little Braap Racer into a larger lifestyle company, bringing the styles and attitudes she loves to the masses, creating an “environment where other people find joy, or feel heard, or find solidarity in the work and goods I produce,” she says, “creating a community around it that isn’t about the brand itself but is about connection and each other.”

She thinks the Spokane area is a uniquely good place to do that. “One of the biggest things I missed about the Inland Northwest is how open and friendly the culture is here,” she says. “People are genuinely interested in being your friend.”

Check out littlebraapracer.com to buy online and for a list of local stores where you can find Kaarin’s products for purchase. Follow her @littlebraapracer on Instagram.

Derrick Freeland | Illustrator and Comics artist

Derrick Freeland has been an artist much of his life, but it was his time working in aging and long term care that has shaped his interest in blending art and narrative storytelling.

“I was a social worker for a number of years before getting back into art,” he says. “Social work, social issues, and the concept of person-in-environment all show up in my work and are starting to become the backbone to the stories I tell.”

He says he wants to tell stories that explore the connections between people and their communities. “I think comics is the best medium for this, because it allows me to combine illustration, design, and writing,” he says. “Having so many mediums to work with allows me to really dive into the ideas I’m trying to illustrate and talk about those ideas on multiple levels.”

Comics is a deeply collaborative genre, and Freeland doesn’t want to just write about communities. He wants to help create one. “I’m the organizer for a comics creators group and we have a lot of projects and events planned for growing the comics community here in the Inland Northwest. My hope is that this region can become a hub for comics in the Inland Northwest the way Portland is for the Northwest.”

Derrick is a native of Portland and lived most recently in Albany, New York, before moving here. He sees something special in Spokane. “It’s all about the people here,” he says. “There are so many artists, musicians, writers, and performers gathering here right now. It’s an exciting time to be a part of this community and to see art movements growing up all around me. My hope is that I can make comics one of those movements.”

You can keep up with Derrick’s work on Facebook and eventually at the currently under construction bottlecrowpublications.com. Email him directly at [email protected]