About Career 5 Design

I’m Katie Stern, founder and designer of Career 5 Design. My work is dedicated to creating designs that touch people's hearts. My designs are inspired by the many years I lived in Wisconsin’s Northwoods—watching loons, exploring forest trails, and photographing the beauty of everyday nature. Those experiences became artwork, and that artwork evolved into Career 5 Design products. Career 5 Design fills a niche—offering original designs for lovers of the Northwoods lifestyle and those who value meaningful, sustainable goods. I offer both cotton and linen tea towels, available individually or in curated bundles. My Swedish dishcloths are imported directly from Sweden and made of 70% wood cellulose and 30% repurposed cotton. They're ultra-absorbent, reusable, and printed in the United States using a process I spent months refining. But I don’t keep that process to myself. Career 5 Design is rooted in both ecology and education. As a lifelong educator, I now teach dozens of other artists how to create and sell eco-friendly products of their own—because art, sustainability, and community grow stronger when we share what we’ve learned.Read their story