Ice Design Studio

Katelyn Ice is the founder of Ice Design Studio, a full-service marketing and advertising agency based in Vincennes, Indiana, offering website design, graphic design, branding, social media, and photography/videography services. As a small business owner herself, Katelyn understands the challenges of juggling the day-to-day business while thinking strategically about the future. Her team is able to come alongside businesses to create cohesive branding with strategic marketing that drives results.

So how did Katelyn get here? Well, she didn’t set out to start a business.

Her small business story starts years ago when she was the Marketing Director for the Columbus Philharmonic. After a maternity leave, she decided not to return full-time to the role but stayed on as a freelance contractor. Due to her reputation for excellence, word spread in the community, and she soon landed work from several non-profits in Columbus.

In 2019, Katelyn moved to Vincennes. Those early clients stayed with her, and she continued working part-time from home, but before long, she noticed that there was a real need for marketing support in Knox County. That’s when freelancing turned into a full-time business.

At first, the transition felt manageable. She eased into entrepreneurship and enjoyed the flexibility. But once she committed full-time, she realized that she needed connections.

In 2022 she joined The Pantheon, and everything changed. Showing up every day with her laptop, she met creatives, business owners, and collaborators. It was energizing. The connections she made helped her business gain traction and clarity.

Around that time, she was paired with Julie Folz, her business advisor at the Southwest Indiana SBDC. Katelyn remembers thinking that business was fine and she didn’t really need a business advisor, but soon changed her mind. “It was a breath of fresh air to be able to bounce ideas off her. As a marketing professional herself, Julie had ideas that I had considered, but she encouraged me to go for them.”

In 2023, Julie encouraged Katelyn to apply for the Elevate Grant, even though the deadline was only two weeks away and Katelyn was buried in client work. With help from First Federal Savings Bank of Washington, she applied.

She won.

Winning was exciting yet terrifying. The grant meant she had to do what she promised: hire employees and invest in equipment and software. At the time, she had poor work-life balance and was turning away projects because she simply couldn’t take on more. Hiring help made sense, but managing employees was new territory for her.

She ran job ads and was flooded with applicants. She experienced unexpected turnover with her first two hires and felt the pressure of spending grant funds responsibly. Suddenly, she wasn’t just doing marketing anymore. She was doing accounting, HR, scheduling, and learning what kind of leader she wanted to be. She learned quickly that working on the business was just as demanding as working in it.

After hiring Katie Peters, her first full-time employee, she moved out of the open coworking space at The Pantheon and into one of the private offices there. A year later, an opportunity came up to move into her own 1,500-square-foot commercial space. She took the chance and hired another full-time team member.

Growth hasn’t slowed since.

Over the last two years, the focus has been refinement: figuring out what Ice Design Studio does best and where the market needs them most. A major turning point came when Katelyn hired Matt Ramsey, a photographer and videographer she met at The Pantheon. What started as occasional collaboration turned into a full-time role.

Today, Ice Design Studio is a full-service agency. The team builds brands from the ground up, including custom websites, photography, cinematic video, social media, and complete marketing plans they can actually execute. Clients are proud of the work, and that pride is what Katelyn values most.

The journey hasn’t been easy. Work-life balance remains a challenge. Pricing services while covering overhead, payroll, and growth takes constant adjustment. Katelyn admits she tends to overdeliver, so learning when to pull back has been necessary. Her husband, an accountant, helps keep the numbers, and her expectations, grounded.

Community has been a constant thread through every stage of growth. Joining The Pantheon led her to also join the Knox County Chamber of Commerce, where she has built strong relationships and continues to network regularly. Connections she made through the Chamber with First Vincennes Savings Bank and Klein Real Estate have supported major milestones, including the buildout of their current space.

Along the way, Ice Design Studio has earned recognition. They were featured in the 2024 IEDC Entrepreneurship Yearbook, voted Best Local Business in the 2025 VincennesSun-Commercial Reader’s Choice Awards, and advancing to the fourth round of the national Entrepreneur of Impact competition. Even without winning, the experience brought visibility and community support.

Looking ahead, Katelyn envisions a larger team, expanded roles, and growth beyond Knox County into Evansville, Terre Haute, and Bloomington markets. The goal is steady, sustainable growth without losing quality or culture.

Her advice to other entrepreneurs is simple. “Start with a business incubator or coworking space. I was blown away by how many free resources and workshops were available. The support and connections I made were unexpected. Without The Pantheon, I’d probably still be working out of my home office. Having a business advisor and learning from others’ experiences made a huge difference. Take advantage of those resources, and don’t skip Chamber events either.”

“If it’s uncomfortable,” she says, “you’re probably growing.”

To learn more about Ice Design Studio, visit icedesign.studio or follow their social media pages!