The not so shocking personal bio of Lynn Lamousin

Lynn Lamousin, 5 Defining Events

I wanted to share more than the expected summary of what I’ve accomplished, so here are short memories about personal events that I consider defining moments in my career and life:

Going Freelance

In 1996, after taking a 4 hour HTML class, I left Cupertino, CA (Silicon Valley) with nothing—no car, nowhere to live, no belongings. (You realize things are bad when you no longer have any keys.)

What I did have was a desire to start start my own business—specifically, a one-person Web development firm in Atlanta, GA. I literally applied for the business license before I even owned a computer. I was incredibly impetuous, but also incredibly motivated.

During 13 years of being self-employed I've had ups and downs (I was part of the Internet boom and somehow survived the Internet bust), and I wouldn't change a single step I took along the way.

Making a feature film (and cinema History)

My business background in project and program management served me well when I decided to take my words from script to screen and produce The Lady from Sockholm—the world's first feature film with an all-sock puppet cast. A huge success at film festivals, the movie has played at over 40 events around the world and is now available on Amazon.com for purchase and rental.

During my time on the film festival circuit, I think my favorite trip was to San Francisco, CA when The Lady from Sockholm played in the Mill Valley Film Festival. It’s a prestigious event run by the California Film Institute and two of my crew members traveled with me. Meeting George Lucas (yes, THAT George Lucas) and a sidetrip to Napa and Sonoma wine country probably factor in to why this event is one of my most memorable.

Travel Writing & Covering the Sundance Film Festival in park city, UT

Even though I have a feature film to my credit, I sometimes feel like an outsider at indie film events since movies aren't my primary creative outlet. So, it felt nice to be at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival with a press pass and a real purpose—writing an article about the event for Creative Loafing, one of the largest alternative-weeklies in the country.

Another memorable magazine assignment was my first travel piece. I was hired to write a short article on a high-end spa located in Santa Fe, NM. The staff set me up with the nicest suite in the hotel, a huge gift basket, free dining at the in-house restaurant, and any spa treatments I wanted to try. It was a fun and lavish assignment for someone just starting out in journalism.

Setting up residence in two cities

I am fortunate to be able to live and work in two cities. In my childhood hometown of Baton Rouge I own a cozy house on a quiet cul-de-sac. In my adult hometown of Atlanta I own a modern loft on a busy metropolitan street. It's a great dichotomy and I love different aspects of each location.

Why "KITTYBOY"

For those wondering how I came up with "KITTYBOY Creations," the name was derived from my Siamese cat, Kittyboy. When I was first starting out he would snooze on my computer terminal while I worked, so I named the company after him since he deemed himself my Muse.

Remember, this is back in 1997 when the Internet was full of crazy company names: Dogpile, Ask Jeeves, HotBot, and Yahoo! (I think Yahoo! is the only one that's still around.) So, naming a company KITTYBOY Creations fit right in.