We Asked, Hollie Batista Answered.

Hollie is a Montana-born artist hoping to make the type of clothing people want to pass down to younger generations. She was born in Great Falls, both of her parents were born in Great Falls, and both of their parents lived there for a long time before that. She has old UM Grizzly shirts her dad wore as a college student that she still wears today. She wants to create new clothing pieces that have a timeless look to them and will last for the next several generations of proud Montanans just like her.

When did you first realize that making art wasn't just a hobby, but something you needed to pursue seriously?

I’ve always felt the need to create. I started out making physical art, and I’d usually sketch everything on my iPad first before anything ever hit a canvas. At the time, it was something I was doing when I felt inspired and it wasn’t planned to ever be a business. I was getting really positive responses from my friends who started paying me small commissions for their own art pieces and that's when the idea of actually creating a business first came about. One day, I had an idea for a matchbook-style Montana sweatshirt highlighting bars in specific towns. I knew absolutely nothing about Etsy, but I threw the designs up anyway. Within two months I had sold 245 sweatshirts, which was a bit of a shock. That was the first moment I thought, maybe I could actually do something with this.

Walk us through your creative process. Where do ideas usually strike, and how do you bring them to life?

Ideas tend to strike when I least expect. I’ll see an old photo, a vintage graphic, or even a random sign and that turns into thinking about how I could make it into a design I like. Once an idea hits, I have to start right away or I feel worried my brain will lose it. I usually do a quick sketch on my iPad and start building a mood board around the vibe I’m going for. From there comes the real challenge, which is actually drawing it out and trying to get it to match the picture I had in my head. Some designs come together easily, but others take a lot of trial and error before they finally feel right.

What's playing in your studio while you create? Are you a podcast person, music lover, or do you need complete silence to work?

My noise-canceling headphones are my best friend. I’m usually switching between podcasts and audiobooks while I work. My go-to podcasts are Armchair Expert and My Favorite Murder, but audiobooks have become a newer obsession. One of my favorites recently was City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. I listened to the whole thing while designing and now I recommend it to everyone.

Running your own Etsy shop means you're artist, business owner, marketer, and shipper all in one. What's been your biggest "I didn't expect this" moment in that journey?

The creative side has always been something that came fairly natural to me. I love drawing and have come to enjoy the marketing side too. Everything else has really been a learning curve. When I first started my Etsy shop, I was using a drop-shipping company. I would design the graphics and they would handle everything else. It had some advantages but ultimately, I hated not having control over the quality of my products. Now with my Ski MT launch, I’m taking a much more hands-on approach, from designing the graphics to dimensioning out the actual fit of the sweatshirts and eventually shipping them out. It’s definitely a lot more work, but I love being able to control every part of the process.

What's inspiring your work most right now? Any dream projects, collaborations, or new directions you're excited to explore?

Montana will probably always be my biggest inspiration. People here have so much pride in where they’re from, and I want to create designs that match that feeling. Right now I’m really focused on improving my garment design skills. Primarily this means making sure the fit and the graphic feel like they belong together. My goal is to eventually build a full brand that wholesales to Montana-owned businesses across the state. A dream project would be designing merchandise for Montana State University or the University of Montana someday. I’d love to create pieces that people feel proud to wear.

Find Hollie's work on etsy.com/shop/originalsbyhollie and follow Originals by Hollie Batista at @originalsbyhollie.