Beyond the Horizon

Growing up in Scituate, Kat Hanafin found her heart anchored to our region. From taking sailing lessons on Pleasant Bay as a child, to cruising through the Cape Cod Canal on her family’s sailboat, she smiles, “I’ve always held the Cape in my heart as a special escape.” 

Hanafin says she has always had a camera glued to her hand since she was a child, “Looking back at old photos of me is so funny,” she remarks. “Any picture I see, no matter my age, I have a camera.” From a childhood hobby, to a lifelong passion, today her photography has evolved into her career. Hanafin’s ardor steered her to open her own gallery in 2020, built with the help of her good friend, right next door to her home. “When I finally opened my gallery to the public it was quite jarring to see new faces walk through those doors,” laughs Hanafin, who says she was use to only seeing family, friends and the small clientele she had built over the years stop by her front door to pick up artwork or her popular calendars. Now with a space to fully put her work on display, in her cozy coastal studio, you’ll find her photography on a range of mediums—from notecards to holiday ornaments. “I even have my work displayed on candles,” Hanafin says, as she explains that she would never have taken that route if it weren’t for the woman owned candle company Feather + Finn. “I want all of my products to be good quality, so it made sense to partner with this amazing local business.” A love letter to her hometown, Hanafin also published her coffee table book  ...