Kate Puhala
About Kate
Kate Puhala is the lead creative behind Compost Hands Creative, specializing in defining and refining the voices of brands and leaders through smart, spirited, strategic copy.
With more than a decade of experience across industries ranging from FinTech and home and garden to beauty, non-alcoholic beverages, and meditation, Kate helps purposeful, progressive brands figure out what they want to say and how to say it in a way that actually sounds like them.
Best Fit
Kate loves working with purposeful, progressive brands and leaders who see strong communication as an important part of what they’re building.
Her clients span industries, but she’s especially drawn to businesses with a clear point of view and a desire to contribute something meaningful to their communities. Her dream is to work with more brands in gardening and landscape design, combining her creative expertise with her own belief in reconnecting people with nature nearby.
Services
Editorial Branding
Brand Voice & Messaging
Voice & Style Guides
Copywriting
Thought Leader Communications
Creative & Brand Consulting
Fractional Creative Leadership
Signature Services
Editorial Branding
Developing the ideas, language, and messaging that give a brand a distinct editorial point of view and make its communications feel cohesive across every touchpoint.
Voice & Style Guides
Defining how a brand sounds so everyone communicating on its behalf has a clear, useful framework for expressing its personality, values, and perspective consistently.
Thought Leader Communications
Helping founders and leaders articulate their ideas in a way that feels natural to them while strengthening their voice, perspective, and connection with the people they want to reach.
What Makes Kate different?
Kate gets to know her clients on a personal level, down to their ticks and tone, before choosing the words that will tell their story best.
Her work goes beyond simply writing copy. She thinks about the larger communication strategy, the person on the receiving end, and what each individual touchpoint actually needs to say. That combination of close listening, strategic thinking, and creative instinct allows her to create messaging that feels real while still doing its job.
Ultimately, Kate wants clients to leave the process feeling invigorated by their brand and excited about how they’re communicating it.
Experience & Background
10+ years of creative and copywriting experience
Experience across FinTech, home and garden, beauty, non-alcoholic beverages, meditation, and other industries
Work includes HOP WTR, Sephora, and Quicken
Experience across copywriting, branding, creative concepts, production, and post-production
Professional gardener and trained arborist
Client Perspective
“Kate’s ability to collaborate and contribute beyond copy writing was valuable to her marketing partners. Putting herself in the shoes of the customer and thinking through the communication strategy from client perspective, combined with great skill as a writer ensured that Sephora Squad launched seamlessly and successfully. Regardless of industry, what Kate can bring to a company to help build and support the brand is valuable.”
— Susan Park, Former VP of Creative at Sephora
“Everything was executed at incredibly high quality and through the lens of a true brand partner. Many of the lines she crafted for us years ago are still used in a major way across our various channels. I highly recommend Kate to any brand looking for a copy expert — she’s a master of her craft!”
— Ryan Haggerty, VP of Marketing & Innovation at HOP WTR
Favorite Advice
Every touchpoint should have one clear message.
Rather than asking a single piece of communication to do everything at once, Kate believes in getting clear on the one thing you want someone to understand, feel, or remember and building from there.
A Few Fun Things
Favorite small businesses: Small farms. Kate is at her local farmers market every weekend.
Coffee or tea? Espresso & tonic
Favorite movie: The Wicker Man (1973)
Something you might not know: Kate is a professional gardener and trained arborist.
Dream client: A brand or business owner in the gardening or landscape design world, where Kate can combine her creative work with a lifestyle she believes in: reconnecting with nature nearby.