Today we’d like to introduce you to Kala Keener.
Hi Kala, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story really began during one of the hardest seasons of my life.
I was going through a time of deep personal loss and having a hard time sleeping. The nighttime hours were long, and I needed something to occupy my hands and quiet my mind—something that would help clear my head and soothe my nerves.
So I bought a small wood burner, sat down at my kitchen table, and started experimenting with pyrography.
I had never considered myself an artist. In fact, the only art class I had ever taken was in the sixth grade. I had no formal training and certainly no plan to become an artist or start a business. In the beginning, creating was simply an outlet. It gave me somewhere positive to put my energy during a time when I desperately needed it.
But somewhere in those quiet, sleepless nights, something unexpected started to grow.
I discovered that I loved creating. I’m a completely freehand artist—I don’t use stencils. Every piece I burn is done by hand and is truly one of a kind. I can sit down in front of a blank canvas and just start. I don’t always know exactly where the piece is going to take me, and that’s part of what I love about it.
As I began healing, I also realized I wanted to reconnect with another part of myself. I was raised in the western and horse world, and I missed it. I wanted to find my way back to those roots, but this time I was bringing this newfound creative side of myself with me.
That’s when hats entered the picture.
I became fascinated with hat shaping and knew I wanted to learn how to do it professionally. I found an amazing school, Hat Masters, but attending was going to require about a $10,000 investment.
I didn’t have $10,000.
At the time, I was raising my two kids, working multiple jobs and trying to grow this little business. So for the next two years, I saved.
I picked up shifts. I worked long hours. I raised my kids. I did weekly vendor events. I created whenever I could. And I kept putting whatever I could back into this dream.
During those same two years, the business itself began growing. Within about a year, I went from doing weekly vendor events, to purchasing a small mobile trailer, to eventually opening my first brick-and-mortar location.
Was money rolling in? No.
But it was growing.
People were buying what I was creating. They believed in my work, which helped me begin believing in it too. Every little bit I made went back into the business.
There were plenty of times when I didn’t know how I was going to make everything work. I was a mom. I had bills to pay. I had multiple jobs. I had a business I was trying to build, and at the same time I was saving thousands of dollars for a school that would teach me something I didn’t even know if I would be good at.
But I had a dream.
And that dream kept growing. In a lot of ways, it was steering me in a positive direction. Every time I put a little more faith into it, I felt like I was taking another step toward the person and the life I was trying to build.
After two years, I finally had the money.
I invested $10,000 into hat shaping school without knowing whether I could even shape a hat.
After the first day, I knew.
I could do this.
And I was good at it.
By the end of that three-day training, something happened that I never could have imagined. Hat Masters offered me an opportunity to join their team. Glenn Ormes, the owner and founder, asked me to work directly alongside him and his son, Parker Thomas of Hats by Parker Thomas.
I had spent two years working and saving just for the opportunity to learn from these people—and three days later, they were asking me to work beside them.
That was a moment I will never forget.
For the next several months, twice a month, I drove eight hours and left my kids, my jobs and my little boutique for four days at a time. I taught, I learned, and I absorbed everything I could from people who were among the best in the industry. Then I would make the eight-hour drive home.
And when I got home, life was still waiting for me.
I was still a mom. The bills still had to be paid. My boutique still needed me. So I picked up more shifts, worked long hours, created when I could, slept very little and kept pushing forward.
Eventually, Hat Masters offered me a full-time position.
Not only would I continue helping with classes, but I became their Client Success Manager, and that part of my position could be done remotely.
That opportunity changed so much for me. I was finally able to step away from several of the jobs I had been juggling. I could work with Hat Masters, continue creating and growing my own boutique, and most importantly, have more time to take care of and be present for my kids.
Teaching has become one of the most meaningful parts of this journey.
There is something almost surreal about being completely self-taught and now having the opportunity to teach other people. I know exactly what it feels like to look at something creative and think, “I could never do that. I’m not an artist.”
Because I was that person.
I love watching someone come into a class unsure of themselves and then seeing the pride on their face when they realize what they are capable of creating. I want people to understand that they don’t need an art degree or years of formal training to create something beautiful. Sometimes they just need the tools, encouragement and permission to try.
My work today combines so many pieces of who I am—pyrography, custom hat shaping and design, teaching, my boutique, and the western lifestyle I grew up loving.
Whether I’m burning a piece of art, shaping a hat or teaching someone a new skill, I want what I do to feel personal. I don’t want someone to simply buy a hat. I want them to leave with their hat—something that fits them, represents their personality and makes them feel good when they put it on.
What sets my work apart is that I don’t feel the need to stay inside one creative box. I’m a freehand artist, a hat shaper, a maker, a teacher, a boutique owner and, above everything else, a mom. All of those parts of my life influence what I create and how I connect with people.
I’m proud of the things I’ve created, but what I’m most proud of isn’t one hat, one piece of artwork or even opening my storefront.
I’m proud that I kept going.
I’m proud of the woman who worked multiple jobs, raised two kids, built a business and saved for two years because she believed enough in a dream to put $10,000 on the line without knowing whether she could even do the thing she was investing in.
I’m proud that I took the chance.
And I’m incredibly proud that something that began during one of the darkest seasons of my life has become something that now allows me to bring creativity, confidence and encouragement into other people’s lives.
When I first sat down at my kitchen table with that little wood burner, I wasn’t trying to become an artist. I wasn’t trying to open a boutique. I wasn’t planning to become a professional hat shaper or teach other people.
I was simply trying to get through the night.
Looking back now, I realize those sleepless nights weren’t just where I discovered pyrography.
They were the beginning of me finding my way back to myself.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of my biggest struggles has probably been believing in myself and seeing myself as an artist. I didn’t come from an artistic background, I didn’t go to art school, and I didn’t have any formal training. The only art class I ever took was in the sixth grade, so almost everything I know has come through trial and error, practice, and a willingness to keep trying.
My journey also began during a very difficult season of personal loss. Pyrography became a way for me to work through sleepless nights, clear my head, and calm my nerves. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about becoming an artist or building a business—I was simply trying to find my way through a hard chapter of life.
As the creative side grew into a business, the challenges changed. Being creative is one thing; learning how to turn that creativity into a business is another. You suddenly have to wear every hat. You’re the artist, the salesperson, the marketer, the decision-maker, and the person figuring things out when something doesn’t go according to plan.
I’ve also had to learn not to let self-doubt stop me. When you’re self-taught, it’s easy to look at people with years of training and wonder whether you belong in the same space. I’ve had to remind myself that there isn’t just one path to becoming an artist. Sometimes you learn by doing, by failing, by trying again, and by allowing yourself to grow.
Some of my greatest struggles have actually become some of the most important parts of my story. They’ve taught me resilience, pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and shown me that I am capable of things I never would have imagined when I first sat down at my kitchen table with that little wood burner.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work has grown into a combination of several things I love—pyrography, custom hat shaping and design, teaching, and my boutique. I specialize in creating pieces and experiences that feel personal and unique rather than something that simply came off a shelf.
Pyrography is where my creative journey began, and it will always be special to me. I love taking a blank piece and creating something with character and a story behind it. That same creativity eventually found its way into hats. With hat shaping and customization, I get to take someone’s personality, style, and vision and help turn it into something they can actually wear.
Teaching has also become a very meaningful part of what I do. There is something special about being able to share what I’ve learned with someone else, especially because I am self-taught. I know what it’s like to start with no formal training, to be intimidated, and to wonder if you’re creative enough to do something. I love being able to show people that they don’t have to consider themselves an “artist” to create something beautiful. Sometimes they just need someone to give them the tools, encouragement, and freedom to try.
In a way, teaching feels like my story coming full circle. I started alone at my kitchen table with a small wood burner, figuring things out through trial and error. Now I get to sit alongside other people, share what I’ve learned, and hopefully spark something in them that they didn’t know was there.
I think what I’m known for most is making things personal. I don’t want someone to simply buy a hat—I want them to leave with their hat. Something that fits them, feels good on them, and reflects a little bit of who they are. The same goes for my classes. I want people to leave with more than something they made with their own hands. I want them to leave feeling proud of themselves and excited about what they’re capable of creating.
What sets me apart is that I don’t feel like I have to stay inside one creative box. I’m an artist, a hat shaper, a maker, a teacher, and a boutique owner, and all of those things influence each other. I’m completely self-taught, so I’ve developed my own way of doing things through experimentation, practice, and plenty of trial and error.
What I’m most proud of isn’t any single piece I’ve created. It’s what all of this has become. Something that started with a little wood burner at my kitchen table during one of the hardest seasons of my life has grown into a business that allows me to create, connect, and now teach others to create too.
I’m proud that I kept going, that I was willing to learn things I didn’t know how to do, and that I took chances on myself. But I’m especially proud when I see someone I’ve taught realize, “I can do this.” I know that feeling because I’ve lived it myself—and being able to give a little bit of that feeling to someone else is pretty special.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.burntouthatco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burnt_outhat/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572662243937
