Lilly Kubit’s world is one of vivid color, found objects, layered meanings, and love. A self-described multidisciplinary artist with roots in Mt. Lebanon, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Kubit creates with intention, humor, and a punky sense of care. Her artistic output ranges from evocative photography to handmade jewelry, upcycled accessories, and zine-like visual storytelling, all under the creative umbrella of her brand, Pound Mutt Procurements.
Kubit’s pop-up space at Haven, a community arts space run by Post-Genre, feels like stepping into her brain, tactile, vibrant, and disarmingly honest. Her work radiates what she calls “trinket, crow-core energy,” with playful pieces built from reclaimed charms, stuffed animals, beads, yarn, vintage plastic, and other oddities gleaned from places like Creative Reuse or gifted by friends.
“I use art as therapy,” she says. “As I move with my hands, I process what’s going on in my brain. It’s a way to check in with myself.”
This check-in has led her down several creative paths. Trained in photography, Kubit has been documenting life since childhood, when she’d borrow her mom’s Nikon DSLR or snap sunsets on an iPhone. After receiving her first DSLR in 2016, she taught herself portraiture, assisted professional photographers, and contributed visual stories to publications like The Communiqué, Trib Total Media, and PublicSource. But over time, she expanded her practice to include printmaking, jewelry-making, and textile work, each new medium becoming a building block toward her maximalist vision.
“I think of each new skill like a tool on my belt,” they explain. “Learning how to solder let me make a chandelier out of a bike tire. Leatherwork helped me reimagine bags. I’d love to get into woodworking next.”
Through Pound Mutt, Kubit reclaims discarded materials, just like her family reclaimed Moose, their rescue pit bull and the brand’s namesake. “Moose came from an abusive background, and we gave him a second chance,” she says. “That’s what I’m doing with my art: giving forgotten things a new life.”
Her work and outlook are also deeply influenced by her queer identity and mental health journey. “Pride, to me, means acknowledging who you are and staying true to it, no matter what the world throws at you,” she says.
That celebration of individuality is also reflected in Kubit’s collaborations, particularly with her best friend, Jorie, of Good Heart Gifts. The duo often share vendor tables at local markets, blending Kubit’s trinket-heavy creations with Jorie’s whimsical crocheted goods. Future plans include collaborative bags that combine Jorie’s soft sculptures with Kubit’s decorative flair.
While Kubit is proudly Pittsburgh through and through, “I come from coal miners and steel workers. I was raised on the Steelers,” she’s also carving out a space in the city’s creative future, proving that art doesn’t need to live in the galleries of New York or LA to matter.
“Pittsburgh is full of unique, fresh, and completely homemade art,” she says. “And I want to be part of showing people that.”
Whether she’s styling charm necklaces or building something completely unexpected, Lilly Kubit is telling a story, one that insists on joy, imagination, and making space for everyone.