Kaytie Keck
Hey there! My name is Kaytie and I am a bartender at Pearl Diver in Nashville TN. I’m also a small business owner of a wearable art company called Dangly Ones. Dangly Ones was named after my favorite movie Home Alone - I've always had a soft spot for that cranky old man in the airport.
These are handmade creations that are meant to make you feel cute and smile. Every piece unique & slightly flawed- just like us.
Dangly Ones was born from quarantine in Brooklyn, NY. While drinking lots of wine, talking to all my plants, and making lots of crafty friends online; I rediscovered my love for clay. Like many in the restaurant/bar industry, I lost my job when the pandemic broke. Shortly into the lockdown, I found myself making a bunch of clay gifts for people and with the encouragement from beloved friends, Dangly Ones was created in April 2020.
Aside from helping me to keep the lights on, I use Dangly Ones to help raise money for various charities such as BlackWomensMovement.org, The Trevor Project, #HATEISAVIRUS, Marsha P. Johnson Project, and others.
Here’s what a typical day looks like:
Breaking Down With Kaytie Keck
“My furry alarm clock wakes me and reminds me that he hasn’t eaten since last night.”
“From about 8:30 - 9:30 AM I’m out in our plant filled living room eating breakfast and reading or playing an RPG game on my phone.
Here you can see my partner hanging with his office manager.
I also use this time to water my garden (not pictured because it’s a mess).”
“Office hour(s)! This looks like chaos, but I promise I know where EVERYTHING is! First, I fill out any orders that have been placed earlier in the week. If I don’t have any orders, I work on new designs or take product photos. But for this week I’m prepping for a big market so I’m just working on cranking out some popular designs.”
“head to the climbing gym. I love climbing because it’s a puzzle that keeps my attention while working out. I’ve never been sorer in my life. Climb the wall…fall from the wall. Do it again.
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“Meet with my fellow Brooklyn transplant, Vic, for some chai and Spiced Romanesco (ancient grains, pinenuts, chili, pomegranate, and goat curds) at Hearts Café.”
“At work and dressed for Ladies Night at Pearl. Normally we wear dark pants and branded tee shirts, BUT every Thursday we have a full staff of female identifying babes working. We choose a theme and this week was 2000s pop icons. I decided to go to the most iconic look out of everyone, Sporty Spice….really I just wanted to wear my Reeboks at work ;P
Here you can see that I’m working w Baby Spice (my Tennessee angel Brit) behind the bar. We play only music from female artists and play movies with female leads.”
“(NOT PICTURED) Staff line up at 445PM. Doors at 5PM. I don’t’ have much to show throughout the night because we are usually busy from the jump.”
“DJ sets up and plays us through the rest of the night. Thanks to our brand sponsor, we are able to hire female DJs from around Nashville. And they kill <3”
“Last call and I’m out by 130 AM. I usually head home at this point because I cannot hang like I used to and NEED my sleep. 2 AM at the latest, I am back in bed with my furry alarm clock waiting to do it all over again ☺”