fun! yup, that sums up kristal from rikrak. she's fun, her designs are fun, even her blog is fun! but i knew there had to be more to her passion for craft than just fun - so i subjected her to "finding passion" and she obliged!
you're a crafter, a blogger, a mom - you obviously have a lot of passions! what am i missing? and what are you most passionate about right now?
thanks so much for having me, nicey!
gosh. so many things: familying, mommying, making arts & crafts with my little sweetie, having 80’s dance parties in the living room, sending snail-mail letters, travelling near & far, picnicking, taking photographs, playing at the park on blue sky days, splashing in the puddles on grey sky days, having tea parties with dear friends, going on adventures with my cute husband, laughing with & learning from my wonderful mom, and playing games with anyone who’s willing!
tell me about an obstacle you overcame in becoming a full-time creator. how did that obstacle shape your business and your attitude towards your craft?
figuring out my strengths and working to them. we live in a great little place in the heart of our beautiful city and we don’t have much extra room for a full-time at-home business. so, our dining room does double-duty as family table by day, craft studio by night. spending money on advertising was an expense my little business couldn't afford at the start, so instead, i focus on my adoration of photography, and spend a lot of time taking the best pictures I can. i use an inexpensive point and shoot camera, and only natural window-light in all of my photos (even though waiting for a sunny day can sometimes require patience, especially during those long winter months in Ottawa!) i think the time investment of making great pictures has really been a good one!
i’d encourage anyone who has a dream to create full time, to work toward their strengths, little bit by little bit, and get creative about problem-solving! believe in yourself, and see if you can find a way to make obstacles into opportunities.
your pieces are bright, clean, modern, and eco-friendly - tell me about your process in designing a new piece.
oh thanks so much, scoutiegirl. that's so nice of you.
gosh - to be honest, quite a few elements are part of the process. firstly, i get crazily excited about the interaction between light, colour, patterns & shapes. so i feel lucky to always have new little designs spinning around in my head as we take a walk, or cook dinner. i also adore the nostalgia & history behind vintage textiles, and the way they seem to inherently inspire fun & functional patchwork goodies in my head. so that is often how the designs are born. and i’m not much of a sketcher – i like to create at the sewing machine. so i often take the hatchling of an idea and the materials and sit down at the sewing machine and get creating!
what do you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion for craft?
like many of us, finding a balance between all of those passions we’ve been chatting about has been an obstacle sometimes for me: that age-old quest for balance as a mommy, a creator, a fun friend & partner & daughter, etc. (insert whatever each of us yearns to do the best we can at here!)
after we had our little sweetie was the time when we also decided to try my designing full time, so that one of us could always be home with little rikrak. this, of course, has many delights & challenges associated with it, especially regarding finding balance! yet those teeny tiny spurts of time (when little rikrak would take a mini-nap; when sleep came at night, etc) made me eventually able to focus on setting little mini-goals on a daily basis. i found this to be a most successful way to accomplish things and find some semblance of personal success, too. i found personal and crafting success in this way, too: today we’ll go to the park, i’ll try to write a note to a loved one, i’ll have a little tea party with mr. rikrak. i’ll try to cut out 2 stockings. done. while it might not sound like much, setting myself up for success, what I could actually reasonably accomplish in a day while being a full-time mommy, too, and setting do-able tangible goals, helped me build my little business, and feel truly happy in life, teeny bit by teeny bit.
i still struggle with this sometimes, but would highly recommend that starting with small steps toward reaching your dreams, breaking it down into achievable goals, brainstorming creative problem-solving ideas where need be, and trying to add a variety of great things you love into everyday, no matter how small, has been a helpful way for me to grow my little business.finding success in little things: it’s a great life lesson my parents taught me. and as a now full-time creator, i think it helps me to plan my days and get stuff done! hopefully !:)
visit kristal at her etsy shop or at her fab blog.
