Tell ALL Tuesdays :: Kristal from RikRak Studio

Good morning lovelies...I know it's been a while since we did a Tell ALL Tuesdays...sorry...life gets busy as you know.

This morning I have a very special fellow blogger/artist/crafter who creates SUCH beauties...

You may have already come across her as she has been featured many times on Etsy and has a very active,informative, creative and fun blog ... anyway, enough of my babble.

Let me introduce to you...

Kristal from RIKRAK Studio::

Tell us a little about the Town you live in... & have you always lived there?

thanks so much for having me, nicies! i’m happy to say that i live with my lovely little family in ottawa , ontario, the beautiful capital of canada! it’s a marvelous city, filled with greenspaces, a festive canal with something for all seasons, a beautiful river, and walking & bike paths weaving through the city! i love how pedestrian-friendly ottawa is, and what a family-friendly city it is! we’ve lived here for about 7 years now, and think it’s just fabulous!

If you could move anywhere tomorrow, where would it be?
oh so many places!
mr. rikrak and I would love to move back to thailand for a few years, or to southern japan to learn various traditional japanese arts, or to norway for a while to study scandinavian design firsthand, or to new york city to revel in the creative energy there! these are all places that i dream to visit again/live in someday with the family rikrak!


How structured is your day usually?
 we have a delightful & fabulous young child, so there’s both a flexible, yet well-structured-feel to our monday to friday. on the weekends, we *try* to work less, play even more, and get out as much as we can to explore our fabulous city!

What did you do today?
* played: frolicked thru the mucky mud on the way to little rikrak’s school. played uno with the family rikrak! (we love board games!); built a lego spaceship.


* worked: wrote some blog posts, sewed some orders, designed some ads for folks, finished an article I’m working on, that sorta thing!


* visited: caught up on correspondences, wrote a few little notes to lovelies, chatted with my mom on the phone, had a teaparty break with mr. rikrak!


* ate yummy meals.


* cuddled.


* those sorts of things!

Are you a cat or dog person?
funnily enough … I’ve happily been a whole-hearted dog person my whole life, and in january our family adopted a shelter cat. i’ve gotta say… i LOVE HIM! what a sweetie. so now I’m delightfully both!

Are you a breakfast, lunch or dinner girl?
mmm… definitely lunch or dinner. i love savoury foods!


If you had 6 friends over for Dinner what would you make for them?
… room on our table for their potluck dishes! J I hope I’m pretty good at making lotsa fun, but I’m a terrible chef! I think I have lots of fun food ideas, but my creative cooking never really comes out as well as in my happy imagination! so I’d do my friends a favour, have everyone bring something they love to eat, and do all the rest of the fun stuff to throw a fabulous fabulous dinner party! yay friends!

How old were you when you knew you were on the right path in your Life?
happily, I feel lucky that I’ve always felt like I’ve been on the right paths, even when paths change. I guess I think there’s learning on all those paths.


Who /what drove & inspired your love to create?
luckily I grew up in a wonderfully creative family. I was surrounded and supported by a most creative bunch of nicies: so my wonderful mom & dad, and my creative guru grandma, and my brilliant siblings were all amazing forces that launched the love to create in my life! I feel so thankful for all of them!

Tell us something not too many people know about you.
it sometimes surprises folks to hear that i did my undergrad degree with a double major in comparative world religions {& commerce!} i am super fascinated by the intersection of world faiths, various paths to happiness & spirituality, and how we can learn from different faiths in our world to strive for a less aggressive, more peaceable, co-operative world.


Shoe choice::flats or heels?
 ha! 100% flats.
I think I’ve only worn heels once in my life: to my grade 8 prom! after that crazy crazy night ( I could barely walk) I vowed *never again!* I’m pretty tall (6 feet) and have bad balance! so always always always it’s happy flats for me!

What was the last book you read?
every night I get the delight of reading lots of great children’s books with little rikrak. so many great kids’ books out there!


What advice would you give others just starting out?
believe in yourself. make what you love. be genuinely enthusiastic about your creations. we’re all great at different things so take time to figure out what your strengths are as an artist, indie business nicey, communicator, etc. then showcase those assets into your own, unique style of being! challenge yourself to improve those areas that need work (the not-quite-yet-strengths!). try not to be too hard on yourself. have fun: it’ll show thru in your work, and make handmaking the joy you know it to be!
and always always, be kind. that’s the best business advice I’ve ever received! {thanks mom & dad!}

 Name 5 blogs you love visiting, and tell us why.
oh gosh. I love so many blogs. I’m especially drawn to folks in life (and in the blogosphere!) that are postive, enthusiastic, inspiring, witty, hands-on, creative & modest. I love folks that create change thru their kindness and motivation: so these days, 5 fave blogs would be:
artmind
chakrapenny whistle
the eco etsy blog
lilly ella
scoutiegirl

Thank you lovely Kristal for letting us take a peak into your Life.
Ottawa is such a wonderful City, I would move there tomorrow if I had a chance, and to meet up with you would be awesome too!
You MUST check out her awesome
BLOG
and her
ETSY STORE

Have a lovely Tuesday!
HUGS
Char,ON