When Katy Sensenig Schilthuis came across a “For Lease” sign in Oak Cliff in 2018, a lightbulb went off. That light sparked what became Mosaic Makers Collective, now located at a warehouse-style space near that first little stall she ended up leasing seven years ago.

At the time, Schilthuis was three years into starting her stationery business, Fresh Out of Ink, following her career in marketing and nonprofit work.

“I loved being my own boss and running my business, practicing my art,” she said, “but you know quickly realized it can be kind of isolating to work for yourself, work from home, carry all the demands of a business on one set of shoulders.”

With this realization as a small business owner, she started to reach out and meet other women in her same position. Through various trade shows and markets, these creatives would begin to support each other in some really incredible ways, she said.

Through the creation of Mosaic Makers Collective, that support became a true community, not only a retail shop.

“I saw the demand I knew I needed it for me selfishly and then realized others did as well,” Schilthuis said.

And she was right, as the collective has now grown, opening to the new space in 2020 with 50 women at the larger location.

While Schilthuis was lucky to have found that stall to spark the idea for the collective in 2018, moving to the larger space during March 2020 didn’t go as planned.

However, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the women still found ways to connect and find that community they needed with the return of isolation. 

“Isolation is a real issue for those who work for themselves…there’s a level of not talking about what you’re doing to other people that builds up inside and kind of makes you feel like you’re the only one who knows these feelings and that’s definitely not the case,” Schilthuis said. 

With the Mosaic Makers Collective today, now that they are back to being in person, connects with coaching sessions, happy hours and meet-ups that keep that isolation at bay. And even more than isolation, being businesses downers in a male dominated industry adds another dimension of support.

“It’s really incredible (to have the collective). There’s still definitely a lot of not great things out there for women owned businesses,” Schilthuis said. “We are a smaller percentage and we get a significantly smaller percentage of things like grants and funding, especially women of color. So all these women within my business are feeling the stretch, but coming together to be supported by people just like them has really changed it.”

If you want to see the work of these Texas women you can visit the Mosaic Makers Collective online or in-person in the Bishop Arts District.

The Mosaic Makers Collective is located at 401 N. Bishop Ave.