Somerset made sense to Burkett as a place to raise kids with family support , even though it didn ' t seem ideal for career purposes , after having worked at various jobs in the design world and digital landscape since 1999 , getting used to big city jobs and a big city salary .
" I was absolutely clueless about how I would make my career choice work in what I considered a small town in the U . S . A ., but I had fallen in love with this house and thought ... ' I can make this work !'" said Burkett . " I could walk to work or ride my bike — something I had not been able to do since I lived in NYC , and having lived outside of the U . S . for 10 years , was important at the time . And most importantly , I could be there for my kids at a moment ' s notice — something that as a single parent has absolutely been worth its weight in any missed out gold . Had I moved back to a bigger city — Nashville , Cincinnati ,
Louisville , etc . — I did not think I would be able to spend the same kind of quality time with my kids and to me that was important ."
She credited Willie Dick at Commercial Printing , as well as colleagues Daniel Stroud and Brandon Lannick , with helping her get back on her feet in her first job upon returning to Kentucky . She also worked at iHeart Radio for a few years before finally embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship with Superfab Digital — which has its own home within the North Main house .
" When I first moved in , I had set up the window porch room as a dedicated office ," said Burkett . " I had an L-shaped plywood worktop that sat on filing cabinets that allowed me to sprawl out , with my computers and cutters , heat press , printers et al . Larry Botzman had given me a proper desk that I used in the middle of the room for writing and homework with the kids . When I started working for iHeart - most of my work was done on a laptop . I didn ' t need much of that equipment anymore and didn ' t feel like I needed to give up the sunniest room in the house to an office space that no one spent much time in anymore . So the space shifted ... and ( I ) turned it into my bedroom ."
The arrival of Covid-19 in 2020 signaled the opportunity for another change , when Burkett ' s office shifted once again back downstairs to the dining room as the kids could do school work there while Burkett worked in the same room on the computer .
" It was also conveniently located next to the kitchen so that I could cook the 300 meals a day required to see us all through ," she said . " We fitted the sunshine room out with a loveseat , etc , making it a more private living room , which was great when the kids or myself needed a bit of a break from all that quality ' family time .'"
The little sunshine room has now come full circle and has become a dedicated office again , equipped with a desk , computer , printer , and design reference books , said Burkett ,
10 • SEKY - Southeast Kentucky Life March 2025