Steve Rustad is a hoot to talk with. A veteran, UC Berkeley grad, and former Federal Sky Marshal, he is foremost an artist and cartoonist, and a marketing professional that has been many things to many people. In print, television, commercial enterprise, he’s done it all, and like so many KSCW members, he comes to this community with a richness of life experience that make collaborations greater than the sum of their parts. Good people and good processes are what matter, and the vitality of our Keller community shows in the results of the work we do together. Collaboration depends on flexibility and cooperation, and we sometimes come to find that being a creative professional is as much about helping others find their creativity as it is about working on your own. It’s that work ethic seen in Steve’s portfolio that loudly struck a coworking chord; if the goal of coworking is to thrive and facilitate growth on many levels, then the experience in collaborative work that Steve brings is an invaluable asset to the group.
The variety of projects in his oeuvre speak to a consistent desire and ability to work in a variety of styles and media to help people develop excellent versions of their brands and marketing, and it’s worth stating that a core purpose of KSCW is to provide the space for exactly this kind of learning and collaboration. He also has a book project going currently (you may have seen copies around the space) called ‘Portia & Otto: Love and Restoration in Three Parts’, about the value in restoring an old Porsche, and the importance of patience, care, and perseverance in finding one’s own path. Sometimes the metaphors jump off the page and can be seen in the real things around us, and this vision of restoration is a powerful comment on paying close attention to the world and people around us. It’s an especially relevant message in a space with such a diverse range of membership experience and interests, and calls forth a framework for how to approach our own projects. In some way, we are what we care for, and the story tells that how we treat others is what we give to ourselves.
If being an artistic resource par excellence for the KSCW membership and running his ad business wasn’t enough, Steve is also the founder of the local non-profit Sonoma Coast Trauma Treatment, providing vital wellness resources to caregivers and veterans. His dedication to service beyond self is a clear part of his work, and when we add that to our version of community, we end up with something that is indeed more, and better than we expected.