02.12.08
My Interview with Kristie Owner of Card Goddess
Meet Kristie Lorette owner of www.cardgoddess.com
Where are you located? Miami, FL
What do you design? I create handmade paper creations ~ greeting cards, bookmarks, notepads and gift tags.
Where/How did you learn this? I don’t remember how I got involved or who invited me, but I was invited to a Stampin’ Up Party, which is the Tupperware party of the rubber stamp world. I made a few items at the party and then it happened~I was hooked!
Where does your inspiration come from? I am inspired by many things. Sometimes I see a card online or in the store and I think of a way to create my own with my own spin on it. Sometimes pictures just pop in my head and then I run downstairs to my office and start pulling out my supplies.
What do you do to combat creative block? Creating cards and other paper creations is very stress-relieving for me, so I do not become blocked that often. When I am feeling slightly uninspired, I usually surf the net or look at catalogs, drawing inspiration from other paper creators’ work.
Where do you design your creations? I have a huge office space that shares the bottom floor with only my one car garage. While a portion of the office is for computer work and filing, the rest of the space is my craft studio.
What does your work space look like right now? Right now it looks like a complete mess. I was working all day on cards yesterday. I have also been challenged in setting it up and organizing it the way I want to, so I headed out to Ikea a few weeks ago to get my office together. Ikea was so overwhelming though that I didn’t buy anything. Little by little though I have been picking up things to get my craft stuff better organized.
How does your family feel about what you do? They love it! They are actually the ones that encouraged me to share my creations with the rest of the world.
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? Just do it! A lot of people talk about it or wish that they could do it, but come up with all kinds of excuses as to why they don’t. Even if you can only spend 1 hour a week doing it, if you love, just do it!
Best advice you recieved when starting your business venture? Don’t let the business side of it get in the way of the creative side of it.
Favorite part of owning your own business? I’m the boss! I am a Leo, which makes me naturally bossy, so I love the freedom that I have to boss myself around.
Least favorite? Financial woes-just like anyone working any job or running any business in the world.
How do you relax? Crafting is very relaxing to me but when I am not doing that I love to read, take long walks with my Jack Russell Terrier, Cody, and watch movies.
Favorite color? Pink
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Absolutely. I have to force myself to use more “manly” colors sometimes so that there is enough variety in my work to capture a wider audience.
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Writing a book.
A sample of Card Goddess products. For all products, please visit Kristie’s website.
