Meet Katie
As a fifth-generation Texan, I spent 15 years working in advertising and graphic design all over the world before returning to my beloved Austin. Jewelry wasn't my first or even second rodeo!
Serendipity and curiosity led me into a kiln-fired glass workshop the summer before my 40th birthday. I emerged bursting with ideas, and a passion (and business) was born.
Now I design and handcraft glass accessories from my Austin studio, taking particular joy in bouncing between the two worlds of pop-art statement styles and "not-your-grandpa's" bolo ties. Welcome!
Kismet
With Arabic origins (qisma, meaning "portion" or "lot"), the word kismet traveled through Persian and Turkish before entering English in the early 1800s. Today, it describes destiny — especially those serendipitous, meant-to-be moments that click into place.
"Kismet!" was the name of my mother's jewelry business, inspired by the street I grew up on. It's the perfect word for how I arrived here, too: designing glass jewelry and accessories along a path that feels intentional, personal, and somehow inevitable.
PROCESS
Glass + Heat
Using a variety of glass formats and techniques, Katie works with glass in its room-temperature state, then kiln-fires it up to 1500 degrees. Firing the glass fuses it into solid pieces with unrivaled depth and luminosity.
Hand-Finished
After firing comes cold work—refining edges with grinders and saws, drilling holes, re-firing, then finishing with quality findings. This is how 20+ hours become a piece you'll wear for years.
Texas Spirit x Scandinavian Sensibility
A fifth-generation Texan born with mid-century modern taste moves to Chicago, marries a Dane, and lives in Moscow and Hong Kong before returning to Austin to start a glass jewelry business.
It's not a run-of-the-mill story, so it's no surprise Katie Kismet isn't run-of-the-mill adornment. These influences impact every facet of Katie Kismet, from minimal/maximal styles to my approach to business and sustainability.
Year Seven
Seven years in and I'm still in love—with working in glass, with joyful design (and the joy of designing), and with championing creative self-expression.
I've shipped glass jewelry to Australia and bolo ties to Milan. I just celebrated one year in a dedicated studio space in central Austin. And I don't do it alone anymore: a team of awesome part-timers now contributes their strengths and talents to events and production.
The truly unexpected part? The "Build Your Own Bolo" experience has become a way to share heritage, the delight of trying something new, and the experience of creating with locals and visitors from around the world. So far, we've put more than 1,500 bolo on bodies—and counting!
Thank you for being here, in any capacity, and I invite you to hang around. There's always something new to discover… 🖤 Katie
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