Meet Kylie Thomas | Owner & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kylie Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kylie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
In late 2020 I had quit my job and a couple months later my fiancé, Gannon, suggested we start a small business. I had no clue what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to do something that involved art. One night I was scrolling through Tiktok and came across a video of someone making a Cubone skull with borax crystals and I thought to myself that it would be cool if someone made a Cubone skull terrarium. Shortly after, I had the idea of bug Pokémon displayed like real moth and butterfy taxidermy. I scoured the internet to make sure I wasn’t stepping on any toes and to my surprise no one had done it yet, so I immediately got to work making prototypes of Butterfree. I knew we had to have a couple before we could go live with it so I decided on our first couple of Pokémon: Butterfree, Venomoth, Beautifly, Dustox, and Spinarak and quickly got some traction on Tiktok. Before we knew it we were thrown into making Pokémon taxidermy full time.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Ever since I was a child I have been either drawing or sculpting silly putty. I went to MCC and ASU for graphic design but dropped out of ASU almost immediately after starting. Once I started taking classes that were more aligned with my major I realized that I really didn’t have any interest in graphic design. I really wanted to focus more on my practical application of art which at the time was special effects make-up. I was a head make-up artist for a local haunted house for 7 years and it was some of the best times for me to flex my creative muscle. I also worked on an indie film in late 2018 but again, I quickly realized that working on a set was something I didn’t like, either. Being a special effects make-up artist lended itself really nicely to Overcast because I had knowledge of mold making and sculpting with Monster Clay and I use those techniques frequently with Overcast. If I didn’t have that knowledge, I’m not sure how far I would have gone with Overcast.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The absolute first place I would take anyone would be Jin Shabu in Chandler. It is my absolute favorite hot pot place and we go at least a couple times a month. The Sukiyaki broth and the sauce I make there are a match made in heaven. I would also take them to Curious Nature in Phoenix to see all the quirky oddities and to see a glimpse as to what inspired it all. At night we would go to the Blue Heron, a speakeasy in Gilbert, and enjoy an Ostrich Pornstar. Is it a weird name? Absolutely. Is it delicious? ABSOLUTELY.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My fiancé, Gannon definitely deserves some recognition as he was the one who pushed me to start a small business and pursue my career as an artist. He has been my rock throughout it all and I cannot thank him enough. Because of him I’m able to focus on the creative side of Overcast and he takes care of the boring business work behind scenes. He is also the one behind all the photography and videography and I’m super thankful for it as I don’t have an eye for photography.
Our good friend, Dillon also deserves some hype. He is the creator of all of our skulls and skeletons! Without him, over half of Overcast wouldn’t exist. He is an exceptional 3D artist and I’m so excited to see where his art takes him.
We also took a lot of inspiration from Curious Nature(a local Oddities and Curiosities shop) and Brom’s Bug Box(a local small business) when starting Overcast. When we first started we would take trips to Curious Nature to look at all the oddities and curiosities to get the creative juices flowing. I basically had it in my head that whatever you can find at Curious Nature, you can find the Pokémon equivalent in our shop. Brom’s Bug Box has been a favorite shop of mine since I started my own bug collection back in 2018 and I took inspiration from how they framed their bug specimens. They do such great work and every time I see them at a market, I try to make sure I come home with a new bug.

Website: https://overcastoddities.com

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