Kamryn Clark is an intensely creative person, evidenced by the varied plants in her shop, her personal style, the way in which she loves people, and so much more. Manager over at the 183 location, Kamryn witnessed the opening of the store and has helped carry it through the spring and summer seasons. She even helped pick out the color palette and her handprint is all over the store’s lettering designs.
Now an Austin native of the neighborhood near her shop, she grew up not far from the original Lamppost location. Kamryn has a long history of coffee knowledge, having worked her first job outside of high school at a coffee shop. After marrying her husband, Kenneth, she worked at Starbucks for a year and then joined the Thunderbirds family. Eventually, she left to pursue more creative work from home during her pregnancy, but after her daughter was born she realized she missed coffee. That’s when two former Lamppost employees convinced her to apply. After only four months as a barista, she became manager of a new location.
She recalls she’d been nervous joining the Lamppost team, as she was still navigating being a mom to a young daughter, but Lamppost was "like walking down familiar pathways...in a way that was comforting and kind and gentle to me.” It was a healing time for her. Coffee is a long-held piece of Kamryn’s heart, and an important one, but there are so many facets to her: art, music, her husband, her daughter. She loves what she does but what keeps her in the industry is the people and the flexibility it gives her with her family and art.
After joining Lamppost, Kamryn was able to explore a new art form she’d always wanted to try: polymer clay. Her first foray into it started small but quickly blew up. Her handcrafted clay earrings have quite the following and are even featured for sale at the 183 Lamppost location. You can check out her art on her Instagram (@kamclark.handmade).
She laughs as she says her “biggest hobby is to pick up a new hobby.” Anyone who knows her would agree, seeing as she has many talents, but she is also an expert at welcoming people into the fold and leading with grace. Her daughter, Freya, has an amazing role model. Apparently, she’s picking up some of the same interests and “projects” as her mother and already loves stopping by Lamppost for some chocolate milk and oatmeal.
I had to ask Kamryn, an artist in her own right, what her favorite film was. For anyone interested: she loves anything by the Cohen brothers, specifically A Country For Old Men. But her favorite of all time might be the 1962 samurai drama by Masaki Kobayashi titled Harakiri. “It’s incredible.”
We send our thanks to Kamryn for her exceptional care for others. Next time you stop in, make a point to introduce yourself to her. She is a hallmark for “love coffee, love people.”
As always, thank you for reading.
The Post xx
