Dare To Be Weird: DIY Lessons From Mr. Kate
The DIY life is appealing for many reasons. First, it saves you a ton of money. Secondly, most projects are easy to pull off. And lastly, it sparks those unexpected moments of creativity; a plus for someone like me, who can barely stay inside the lines when applying nail polish.
These days, fashion and beauty bloggers have incorporated the niche style into their respective sites, but one (very unique) name stands above the rest–Kate Albrecht, more popularly known as “Mr. Kate.” The design virtuoso’s A Hot Glue Gun Mess ($20) is a hilarious and insightful part memoir/part DIY book that we can’t put down.
Inside are 50 fool-proof projects that cover the spectrum of fashion, beauty and home and are also paired with hilarious stories about Kate’s life. From a one night stand with Tiger Woods (yes, seriously) to dinner with Tom Hanks and even horseback riding with Kim Kardashian, you’ll find it difficult to not laugh out loud with each page turn.
Despite growing up in Tinseltown, Mr. Kate has “around the way girl” appeal that we can totally identify with; the girlfriend you grab drinks with after work. We recently chatted with the crafty fashionistas about the all things DIY, including how to get “bae” involved, what to keep in our purses and so much more!
Keep reading for our latest exclusive and click through to see how we fared when trying out one of Mr. Kate’s DIY nail designs!
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StyleBlazer: I’ve just moved into my (very modest) Brooklyn apartment and it definitely needs some sprucing up. Where’s a good place to start for beginner DIY decorating?
Mr. Kate: “Art is always a good place to start because it’s where you can be the most experimental and get away with the least skill. Also, art does wonders to make a place look decorated and infuse some personality. Try playing with some paint techniques like taping off patterns and painting within a color palette or just go all Jackson Pollock on a giant canvas. Anything on a giant canvas looks legit.”
SB: What are three beauty items you suggest every gal keep in her purse this summer?
MK: “I love a light, but matte primer to help ward off oil for a DIY fresh face. I’ve been using Smashbox Photo Finish Light. A two-in-one cheek and lip tint to DIY yourself the perfect summer glow in a flash! I love the Universalist Multi-Stick by W3LL People. [And] a bottle of black nail polish and a toothpick so you can quickly DIY minimalist, negative-space nail art like polka dots or a star on bare nails using the toothpick tip.”
SB: Besides your mom and grandmother, is there anyone else (both famous and otherwise) that you’ve drawn inspiration from?
MK: “I love me some Martha Stewart and Oprah; I would love to build Mr. Kate into an omnimedia brand like they have done. I’m also really inspired by the community of bloggers and YouTube influencers of which I’m lucky to be a part of; they’re all badass, creative boss ladies. I also think Jessica Alba has done an incredible job of parlaying her acting career into boss lady status with the Honest Company.”
SB: Can you recall any DIY ideas that seemed great in theory, but terrible in real life?
MK: “So many! But that’s the point of my book title A Hot Glue Gun Mess; that often times, the messes lead to a learning experience and being creatively expressive is always a win. I remember when Joey and I were first together and it was a long distance relationship. He was in a band but I met him on a movie set and then was his groupie on the tour bus – both stories in the book as well.
He had a dumpy apartment in Boston where he lived when he was not on tour. I decided to spruce up his room and tried to use ribbon to create stripes on his wall. In theory it was a good idea but I had to use double stick tape to put them up and the ribbons started sagging. So then he had saggy wall stripes. Not a good look.”
SB: What are your tips for getting significant others involved in a DIY project?
MK: “Flattery. ‘I can’t seem to work this drill, can you try? Oh wow, you’re good at that.’ Pretend you’re Marilyn Monroe in a ’50s movie, even though you can probably work that drill no problem. Joey likes doing projects that have, what he calls, ‘Man Candy,’ essentially anything with tools and/or heavy lifting. The best DIYing partnerships happen when one of you is the ‘creative’ and the other is the ‘muscle.’”
SB: You’ve encountered or become friends with a ton of A-listers (Kim K., Leo, SJP, etc.). What would you say is the key to living a privileged life and remaining humble?
MK: “I write about in the book how I quickly learned that meeting and hanging out with famous people wasn’t the dream-come-true you imagine it will be. They are just people after all. I stayed humble by being in a creative environment where I was encouraged to express my ‘weirdness’ so I always had a calm sense of self that no matter who I knew or hung out with I was ‘cool’ because I was me. I didn’t need the outside world to define or reinforce my identity. I really found that quiet confidence through being artsy and experimental. Dare to be weird!”
Go to the next page and learn how to do one of our favorite DIYs from the book!
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