About Karen
Karen Chisholm is a distinguished professional in advertising, brand management, design, and art with a rich background in creating compelling narratives across various sectors, including tech, commercial real estate, big names in entertainment, and product development for major retailers. Her career is defined by a blend of creative ingenuity and strategic thinking, continually adapting and spotting trends in the continuously evolving demands of each industry she touches.
Early Inspirations
Raised on the shores of Lake Michigan, Karen found early inspiration tinkering alongside her father in his garage, where he perfected his 70’s funny, drag and sto racing cars. This hands-on experience fostered a love for practical creativity, whether working with mechanical components or crafting natural creations from her barefoot wanderings through pinewood forests and sand dunes. Her passion for the arts was further nurtured by her great uncle, a violinist and pianist, and her aunt, a gifted watercolor artist.
Education
As the first person in her extended family to pursue higher education, Karen graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the Moody College of Communications in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, the nation’s top-rated advertising school at the time. It was there that Karen grew to love coming up with big ideas after studying under the nation’s top-ranked faculty drawn to the college from the largest and most world-renowned ad agencies of New York.
Originally planning to move to New York, Karen’s path took a sudden turn following the tragic suicide death of her boyfriend in her senior year prompting her to remain in Austin close to her family who supported her during that challenging time.
Pixie Grit Studios
In Austin, Karen embarked on her career in advertising, working with ad agencies, publishers, and in-house marketing departments before launching her own agency, Pixie Grit Studios. For more than two decades, she has earned the trust of CEOs and key stakeholders ranging from high-tech and software company CEOs to rock stars like Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.
Pixie Grit Studios has earned a reputation for developing big brand ideas that propel profits, increase corporate efficiencies, secure customer loyalty, and start the trends that become the standards. Her innate predictive instincts to ask the right questions and identify the core problems result in innovative strategies for true change.
Many of Chisholm’s clients have seen a 100% to 400% increase in gross profit within the first year of rebrands and product and service launches as a direct result of her predictive instincts and analysis. The results of Chisholm’s intuitive work can be seen on the shelves of major retailers, on the desks of corporate executives, and on countless business websites across the US
Pixie Grit Studios has recently ventured into providing stock video, graphics and photography for content creators. You can find some of her work on AdobeStock.com.
Recent Years
Prompted by the global pandemic’s impact on her business, Karen embraced a pivotal contracting role first with COLSA then SAIC to support the establishment of Army Futures Command (AFC) in Austin, TX—the biggest start-up of her career. At AFC, she collaborates closely with Commanding General Rainey and his team, the Communications & Marketing Department, and the Directorate of Innovation (DoI). Karen expertly analyzes complex data from system-of-systems architects, scientists, and engineers, transforming it into clear, concise presentations for senior officials. Her contributions frequently reach audiences at the Pentagon, leading tech companies, and industry leaders. Overwhelmed by the demand for her expertise, Karen led the development of a graphic asset library, creating over 10,000 AFC-branded visual assets and documents, specifically tailored to support the dynamic work of the 29,000+ enterprise.
Expanding Horizons
Raised on the shores of Lake Michigan, Karen was inspired early on while helping her father in his garage, where he fine-tuned his ’70s funny cars, dragsters, and stock cars and inspired her to write the song “Seventeen.” This hands-on experience sparked her love for practical creativity, whether it was tinkering with mechanical parts or creating natural art from her barefoot explorations through pine forests and sand dunes. Her artistic passion was further nurtured by her great uncle, a skilled violinist and pianist, and her aunt, a talented watercolor artist.
This has led Karen’s to pursuit creative ventures including under the name Karen Chisholm Music, underwater and nature photography featured on AdobeStock and on her personal Instagram page, and abstract art under the name KC Industrial Art & Design. each discipline infused with the depth of her life experiences and her innate artistic vision. Her musical journey has been recognized with numerous awards, celebrating her unique ability to convey emotion and narrative through song.
What is Success?
While much of the world measures success through careers and financial gain, Karen considers raising her two children her greatest and most rewarding endeavor and the legacy she wants to be remembered by.
Her daughter, Holly, graduated with honors from the Savannah College of Art and Design and pursued a successful career in Industrial Design. While she was working for a start-up in California and inspired by Calvin & Hobbes, Holly began posting dark humor comics about love, break-ups, depression, and anxiety. These comics quickly gained a large following under the name, Just Peachy Comics, leading her to author three books and launch an online business.
After the pandemic, Holly visited Japan and was charmed by the quaint gift shops in the villages. Inspired by her travels, she opened her own Japanese gift shop, Kinkan Gifts, in Arizona, where she now lives with her husband, two dogs, two cats, and a parakeet named Larry.
Following Karen’s cancer journey, her son, Luke, was diagnosed with a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, which required four years of therapy. Despite being advised that he would need special education, Karen believed he was capable of much more. She explored effective, unconventional protocols, now recognized as mainstream, that have left little trace of his initial prognosis. Luke went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Engineering from Texas A&M. Also enamored with Japanese culture, he taught himself Japanese and currently works as a Software Engineer on NASA’s Artemis Mission at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he lives with his girlfriend and a cat named Vivi.
Future Endeavors
After decades in a traditional career, Karen has decided to embrace her lifelong artistic aspirations. She is currently building an art and music studio in Cozumel, Mexico—a place where she fell in love with underwater photography and the primitive, uninhabited side of the island. Here, without electricity or cell coverage, she immerses herself in the pure elements of sun, moon, stars, and the sea’s raw energy. Karen collects rocks and coral, seeking artifacts of an ancient world to transform into unique art pieces. The studio, named [Studio Name], will host workshops for artists and musicians as well as health and wellness retreats.