Checking in with Dr. B.

Dr. B., also known as Dr. Dawn K. Batson, interviews past students and other professionals as they find and keep their joy while navigating life and career challenges and successes. Dr. B. is a creative professional with over 20 years of experience in multicultural education and arts administration. She utilizes music and the arts with emphasis on the steel pan (the steel drum in the United States) as a medium for cross-cultural outreach. As the Executive Director of Keep Your Joy and Rise, LLC, she conducts training sessions in personal empowerment, team building, equity and inclusion for professionals and institutions across the globe. *Disclaimer: Checking in with Dr. B. is for entertainment, educational, and informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host.

All Episodes

Checking in with Dr. B.

From a very young age, I was own way - Gabrielle Punch is Checking in with Dr. B

February 21, 2023 • Dawn K. Batson • Season 1 • Episode 8

Growing up in a highly creative, talented and entrepreneurial family, artisan Gabrielle Punch began exploring her own passion for creativity from an early age. Over the years she has worked in several different mediums, from clay and ceramics, woodwork and paper, to photography, videography and graphic design.

20 years later in 2015, Gabrielle discovered her newest passion from leather-crafting. A long lover of leather and leather products, she was introduced by a friend to the raw material, and very quickly began experimenting and creating unique pieces. She entered her first artisan market that year and received a tremendous response from patrons who were impressed with her work, which they described as classy, stylish and so functional. As the support and encouragement grew, so did Gabrielle’s llove for working with leather. She acquired some hand tools and through trial and error, taught herself skills and techniques including sewing with leather. She describes herself as a perfectionist who continues to learn more and more with each new project.

To date, Gabrielle has designed and created over 1000 original, one-of-a-kind pieces. Taking her time to think about and work on each detail to be added. Her main focus is to create pieces for everyday use that fulfil the basic needs of her clients and customers. Almost never working with pre-designed sketches, she works completely on the fly with images only in her mind and with this she prides herself on never repeating a design...NOT EVEN ONCE. She says “I never know what the full end result is going to look like, but I’ll know it’s done when it’s DONE!”

In 2018 Gabrielle made a bold and courageous move quitting the security of her 9-5 job, and launched into D’Punchline as a full-time entrepreneur. She says it’s the biggest decision she ever made, and she has never been happier!

Check Gabrielle’s website:

https://dpunchline.com/home

On Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/dpunchlinett/

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/depunchlinett/

Thank you for listening. If you prefer to watch the video, check it out on YouTube.
Visit our Jumpstart Networking Forum at Keep Your Joy and Rise and follow us on Instagram.

People on this episode

Dawn K. Batson

Host