About Kristi

My name is Kristi and like you, I am many things.

How does one describe oneself?

How would you describe you?

Hmmm…. What am I…..

An artist foremost but I am also a dreamer, I am silly, I am serious, I am colourful even though my vocation requires me to wear all black, I am quiet, I am Aquarius, I am a go-getter, I am shy, I am brave to the point of fearless, I have self-doubt occasionally, I am a writer and a reader, I am active and clumsy, I am graceful when dancing, I am outrageous at times, I can be a granny at times, I am messy while creative, organized before and after, I am a homebody but I am an avid traveler. When I think about it, I am so many things that I am a conundrum blended with a touch of mystery … but most importantly I am exuberantly me.

I have a short attention span and so I dabble in all sorts of creative endeavours: poetry, paintings, sketches, etchings, t-shirts, buttons, stuffed toys, clothing, costumes, papier mache and soft sculpture. Most recently I am all about PUPPETS! More recently I have ‘developed’ an overwhelming interest in making baby items, as I am due with my first ‘pixie pirate’ in March. I have been designing all sorts of new items for my little one.

As my career, I passionately support myself as a floral designer and professional container gardener. It is a great way to be artistic and keep in touch with Nature. It’s also a great way for me to hang out with my friends – we all work so much that we wouldn’t see each other if we didn’t!

In January 2008, I decided that I would work to achieve a lifelong dream of becoming a puppeteer. I had to  overcome the cold sweats,nausea and the shakes but I finally went to some workshops. Happily all the participants adored puppets as much as me. At the end of the first workshop I was so relieved about my acceptance into their world, that I teared up and told them all how much I felt and how terrified I had been. It was like being lost and finally finding home!

We enjoyed the group so much we formed a troupe called Unraku – a combination of Japanese puppetry called Bunraku and Table Top puppetry. We are now building puppets and performing with them. We are working on several projects to film for YouTube in order to build up a fan base. We have booked parts of our our Cross Canada tour and are looking to possibly go to Europe after! Hope to see you in your town in the future!

You can see more about my troupe at www.unraku.ca

I also happen to be the sole proprietor, knitter & knoggin at my own little Etsy shop, KnogginKnitting.etsy.com . I joined Etsy with much excitement Sept. 17th 2007 and have been exploring, sharing and selling ever since! I entirely buy handmade now for any birthday or Christmas gifts for family or friends which makes them so customized, special and reasonable! I will be putting up some of my new baby items on Etsy and I will be continuing working on Knoggin even after the new addition arrives.

6 Random Things About Kristi aka Knoggin:

• Despite having a strong aversion to Math of any sort, I can memorize long numbers even if I do not want or need to – to the extent of subconsciously overhearing & memorizing stranger’s phone numbers. For goodness sake, if I am going to use up my memory, let me remember where I left my cuppa tea!
• My elbows are disturbingly double jointed – again, a useless ability except as a bizarre party trick. I guess I am the new kind heroine with not-so-super powers.
• I am enamoured of all things on two wheels, especially the motorized sort. I love to ride and jump dirt bikes when given the opportunity. I proudly still sport a bone bruise on my shin from over 10 years ago from a log I hit at top speed.
• I learned how to read upside down in Grade 1 which resulted in my being able to speed read right side up and to thankfully also combat my dyslexia. This makes playing Scrabble much easier for me. Thank you Mrs. W!
• I had a 50 foot imaginary horse when I was a kid named after the great Trojan horse from Greek Mythology. My friend Laura could see him, can you? He’s there, right behind you, nibbling on your hair! He’s especially fond of leaky ice cream cones and unwanted broccoli.
• I have 8 tattoos and 10 piercings currently. I have a strong need to have them placed in symmetry on my body. This means that if I get one on one side, I must get the same thing on the other side. Example, tragus piercing on the right, tragus piercing on the left. Nose piercing on the right, nose piercing on the left. I fear if I didn’t stick to symmetry, I might tilt to one side or perhaps always turn in one direction indefinitely. I get around this potentially costly addiction by keeping as many as possible to the centre of my body. After my pregnancy, I intend to add to my collection.