CCAD Stories: Brian and Emily Kellett

In the seven years since founding STUMP, Columbus College of Art & Design graduates Brian and Emily Kellett have seen their retail business flourish. What began as one small shop in Columbus, Ohio, now is an enterprise that has grown to four states (as of early 2022) and several cities.

STUMP is a retail shop that dedicates itself to bringing plants into people’s lives—and keeping them there through education, stellar customer service, and thoughtfully designed products.

“Education is the no. 1 priority and focus at all of our shops,” says Brian Kellett (Media Studies Still-Based, 2007).

Cultivating a plant retailer may not seem like an obvious choice for people with degrees in art or design. But Brian, who manages photography and marketing for STUMP, credits his CCAD education with aiding him in looking at a blank canvas—or an empty space—and envisioning an aesthetically pleasing way to fill it. Similarly, Emily (Industrial Design, 2016) says her CCAD degree informs her work designing products for the store, such as watering cans and planters. Her education helped her learn how to make things, but even more importantly, it helped her better understand “why I like what I like,” she says.

The Kelletts’ knowledge and skills are paying off. In addition reaching its tendrils into several states, STUMP also has received notice from the likes of The New York Times, National Geographic, Midwest Living, and even Christie’s International Real Estate. Not too shabby.
 

Hear more from the Kelletts in the accompanying video.
 

Learn more about CCAD’s Industrial Design and Photography programs, or apply here.