About

Hi! I am Kara Nyhan and I will admit to not being the biggest fan of bio writing so this is more of a stream-of-consciousness about how Lore came to be, so here goes nothing! Below is a brief overview of my education and then we can get to the fun stuff!

• Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from North Central College (2019)

• Film Production Trade Honors Diploma from Vancouver Film School (2021)

  • Focus in writing, directing, producing, and assistant directing from

• Master of Business Administration from North Central College (2025)

  • Focus in small business entrepreneurship

I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and was raised in a very academically and creativity oriented home and family. I have quite a few memories of coming home from school in the afternoon to my grandfather sitting in the living room with multiplication flashcards or in-depth conversations about law and justice between by mom and grandfather, which I was always welcome to join. And then, I’d spend many of those evenings at various choral and artistic rehearsals.

I always enjoyed both academic and creative pursuits, but I mostly considered myself a musician and a “back-stage brat” in the theatre world. It wasn’t until I went to college and found myself struggling in an academic environment for the first time in my life (I was a psych & philosophy double major my freshman year), that I began considering other creative pursuits than music more seriously. At my mom’s good advice and with the support of my family, I transferred schools and degree-tracks and started my journey into graphic design and non-music/theatre art.

After college, I spent six months at Walt Disney World as a part of their Disney College Program and learned a lot about myself and what I wanted from my career. After coming home from that program at the end of 2019, I simultaneously began studying for my LSATs (law school entrance exams, I thought I might go into entertainment law) and applying for professional trade and training programs in film. And then I sort of left it up to the universe.

Within a week of applying for Vancouver Film School (VFS), I was accepted and applying for a student visa to Canada. Now if you’re paying attention to the timing of all of this, you might be questioning about COVID. I moved into my apartment and started classes at VFS literally the week before the shut-down started. I flew home right before the borders closed between the U.S. and Canada as my classes were on pause with a potential to move online and I had no idea how long I might be stuck in my shoebox studio apartment. I spent the next four months doing by first third of the film production program, online with a much smaller class than I had started with.

That smaller class came together in amazing ways and really embraced the necessary flexibility and restrictions that existed when we returned to in-person classes in August. I credited that cohort with helping me grow as a creative, as a leader, and as a person in general. I fell in love with producing, directing, and assistant directing (kind of like theatre stage managing) as I found them to be a fantastic mix of my academic, research. and organization skills and my artistic eye and love of stories and creative problem solving.

When I moved home in 2021, I jumped into a local barista job and then moved to working as an office assistant at a local business, but I was not utilizing much of my education or creative skills. With my mother’s blessing, I decided to go back to school and continue with an educational track that could build upon both graphic design and film. As many creatives out there know, a lot of us work for ourselves and as independent contractors or start our own small creative agencies or production companies. It’s with this kind of small business in mind, that I focused my MBA on small business entrepreneurship.

Now those that know me, may also go, “wait Kara, what about the podcast?”. Yeah, whilst leaving my office assistant job and starting my MBA, my best friend and I also started a entertainment media company Wolf & Stag Productions with the intent to produce our own podcast and the goal to diversify and produce podcasts in other genres or for other creatives down the road. And so after Wolf & Stag was up and running, we started our first podcast, Hyperfixation Investigations. That title may give you a hint as to why I am as much of a “busy bee” as I am. I have always been open about this, but after college I was diagnosed as combination type ADHD, and after I returned home from film school, went through a long and eye-opening process of being diagnosed as Autistic as well. You may notice that the branding and graphics for both of those ventures are in my portfolio. Where better to apply my skills and proof my capabilities in these areas, than my own projects?

I am excited to be able to move into this next stage of my professional life helping other small businesses and creative entities with small projects like a simple poster to more extensive branding. And this new stage, required a place to hold my portfolios and help potential clients get in touch: Lore Art & Design was born.

P.S. The crocheting is a hobby that, at times, is also a side-gig. I don’t sell finished pieces or do art fairs, but I do work on commissions for amigurumi (stuffed animals), blankets, and objects like purses, hence the Lady Dearest portion of Lore.

P.P.S Here’s a quick list of my favorite things in no particular order:

• wolves

• the color green

• tattoos

• stuffed animals

• my mom

• my friends

• music

• anything Irish

• road trips

• naps

• sarcasm

• popcorn