Cattail Creek Creatives opens new studio space in Fond du Lac

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

August 11, 2025

FOND DU LAC – A Northeast Wisconsin entrepreneur with a passion for creativity and connection took a gift from her grandfather – his old cameras – and made herself a career.

Now the owner of more than 50 of them, Katie Madlom – owner, chief photographer and videographer of Cattail Creek Creatives – said she realized they were never just cameras, they were the spark that began her passion for photography.

Entrepreneur at heart

Madlom said she’s dreamed of working for herself since she was a child.

“I actually always wanted to own my own business,” she said. “It kind of started out as a coffee shop in my brain when I was a kid, because I love coffee, but I started my actual photography business in 2011 and ended up going full-time in 2021.”

Madlom’s grandfather, according to Cattail Creek Creatives’ website (cattailcreekcreatives.com), gifted her his old cameras years ago – in turn, sparking “a legacy, and the beginning” of her creative career.

Operating first under the name Madlom’s Fine Arts and Photography – “because I did a lot of painting and drawings at the time” – Madlom said she changed her business’s name to Cattail Creek Photography in 2014.

Prior to 2019, Madlom said she was still working full-time at a local school district.

“Then, an [old] friend of mine [wanted me to join] their company – which was a start-up company [that] did a lot of video, social media, website design, graphic design, [etc.],” she said. “I [became] the photographer there, and for a little more than a year I was working there, and I learned a lot with videography.”

After that start-up unfortunately shut down in 2020, Madlom said she brought all of her new experience into her business – changing the name once more to Cattail Creek Creatives around 2020.

“I wanted a different name than my own personal name,” she said. “I love cattails and grew up with cattails in my house. I love water, and cattails are often by a creek.”

Madlom said she decided to switch the name from “Photography” to a more general “Creatives” because she added new services.

“[When] I added videography in 2020/2021, [I] wanted to change my name to correlate with that,” she said.

Now, Madlom said she’s celebrating the recent official opening of her new creative studio space – located at W5154 Maple Ridge Drive in Fond du Lac.

“I was using it for maybe eight months prior to my actual open house in June,” she said. “I was using it off and on, trying to get a feel for my space and really understand [it] before I launched it out into the public.”

Offers inside, outdoor locations

Working out of her home for much of the company’s existence, Madlom said the plan was to build herself a studio.

“When I lived in Oshkosh for many years, I had bought a house that had a secondary garage,” she said. “I was going to eventually build and remodel that second garage into my studio.”

When “eventually” rolled around, Madlom said Cupid shot an arrow into her remodel plans.

“Funny enough, the guy who was supposed to help me with all of these fun projects, we actually ended up falling in love and getting married,” she said. “I met him, weirdly, here at my current house [during] a church picnic, and long story short, he [said], ‘I could build you this studio.’”

So, after moving into her current Fond du Lac residence, Madlom said her now husband built her a studio – just like he said he would.

“It’s about 30-by-25 [feet], so it’s not huge, but it’s a beautiful spot for me to do a lot of food and product photography, as well as headshots, senior [portraits] and even families,” she said. “I’m more of an outside family session person, but some people really like the inside [setting], too.”

For an outdoor session, Madlom said clients don’t have to travel far from her at-home studio.

“I can utilize the studio space inside, as well as all of the land we have in our backyard – which is about four-and-a-half acres,” she said.

In addition to the property’s natural beauty, Madlom said she and her husband also built “little stations” or scenes across their acreage for her clients to pose and photograph with.

“It’s a perfect location,” she said. “There are so many little hidden spots.”

Inside her new studio, Madlom said clients have the option to use provided or self-supplied props, furniture and various technology to assist in their projects.

“I, of course, am kind of biased, but I think it’s a beautiful space where people can come and have meetings or rent it out for whatever purposes – whether it’s a mini workshop or a small event, [because] here, I have access not only in my studio space, but into the garage as well,” she said. “Why not share an awesome space?”

Clients’ vision, her lens

With photography and videography becoming a much more consumer-friendly industry, Madlom said she’s had to adapt to survive its ups and downs.

“When I first started, I did a lot of friends and family stuff,” she said. “I really loved senior [portraits] and I still do. They’re one of my favorite things to do, besides branding, [but] I pivoted on many levels.”

Some of her pivots, Madlom said, included adding videography, wedding services and business, product and food photography.

“I slowly started [shooting] weddings, when I really wasn’t planning on ever doing so, and then I fell in love with them,” she said.

The business photography facet of Cattail Creek Creatives, Madlom said, is a growing niche that also helps her network with other local business owners.

“Business photography is becoming a thing, and most everybody knows somebody or has a business themselves, so that really helps me pivot and stay alive,” she said.

Because her industry is “swamped with photographers,” Madlom said she makes it a point to collaborate with other local creatives.

“There are many talented, wonderful photographers out there, and we all have our own styles and niches, so I love collaborating with other photographers,” she said. “I’m all about meeting people and collaborating with people, and it really comes down to working with people on an individual basis, too.”

Though Cattail Creek Creatives does offer “packages to help people see what [she] offers,” Madlom said her clients are welcome to utilize her services à la carte as well.

“There is no one-size-fits-all,” she said. “[After the COVID-19 pandemic], when I pivoted back to more in-person sales, I stopped doing these elaborate packages and [started saying], ‘Tell me what you’re looking for. I will create a package, and if you like it, we’ll go from there.’”

And because of how long she’s been a self-employed photographer, Madlom said she’s able to tap into a well of confidence dug over her more than decade of experience.

“I will often tell people to go ahead and look at other photographers out there, and then if they’re still interested in my services, then we can move forward,” she said. “This way, they either know that they really love my stuff, love my personality – or, they pivot and move somewhere else.”

However, “90% of the time,” Madlom said potential clients end up returning to book her services.

“I pivot with my clients,” she said. “I have my standards, I have my pricing, I have my stuff, but… I don’t want you to buy something you don’t want. I want to make sure your experience is a fantastic one, and I want to make sure that it’s really your vision. This is why my tagline is ‘Your vision, your story, your why, through my lens.’”

To learn more about Cattail Creek Creative’s services or new studio space, visit its aforementioned website or social media pages.