Bantam Businesses: Pocket Sized Observer and Giveaway!

Hello Lovelies!

I just have to say that I am SO enjoying sharing some of my favorite artists/shop owners with you! These are some amazing people and I know you will love them and their work as much as I do.

So let’s meet our next bantam business owner! Meet Katt of Pocket Sized Observer. I met Katt on Instagram through a mutual friend. I saw her work and thought she was super talented. I love her bright colors and adorable illustrations. I knew it fit perfectly with my love for cute things. So, we started chatting and when I decided to move forward with this feature I knew she needed to be a part of it. Please allow me to introduce you to Katt! (make sure you read all the way to the bottom for information on entering our giveaway!)

Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself?

A: I go by Katt or Katie but my real name is actually Katherina. I’m a 27-year-old girl who threw herself at the opportunity at being an entrepreneur and her own girl boss. I love art, cosplay, music, anime, a good book, Disney, hiking, travelling, delicious food, fashion, dance, kawaii (basically all things cute) and photography. I live with my boyfriend and cat in Kitchener, Ontario. I am fiercely passionate about animals, protecting wildlife and the environment. I really want to “be the change” and make a positive difference on this planet, while I’m here. I’ll soon be starting up a secret project, “project action” which will be a part of my Etsy shop so stay tuned :).

Q: How did you get started with your business?
A: I started out by making moleskine journals for a Christmas bazaar that my mom’s work was hosting a couple years back. At the time, I was going through some personal issues and had found solace in art and was doing it on the side. I got into making necklaces and art prints soon after and now, I’m happy to say that it’s my full-time job.
Q: What has been most rewarding about owning your business?
A:  There are so many things I find rewarding about owning my own business. Yes, it is difficult and it is a lot of work but I love the freedom and creativity of it. I was not built for a 9-5-office job!
Q: What is your favorite part of making your products?
A: I find coming up with ideas to be one of my favourite parts when making my products… that, and the actual creating process, as well. I love how endless the imagination is and how creative you can get.
Q: When not making adorable illustrations, how do you spend your time?
A: In my spare time; you can find me spending time with family and friends, binge watching all the anime, writing, playing video games, sometimes modelling, cosplaying, travelling when I can and gardening in the spring and summer seasons. To be honest, one of my favorite ways of spending my time is just being with my boyfriend and super tiny, and adorable feline, Alice. They are two of my hugest inspirations.
Q: What is your favorite dessert?

A: My favorite dessert… hmm… it has to be a tie between crème brulee and cheesecake. Ice cream follows shortly after! Thinking about this is making me hungry, haha.

Now that you know a little about Katt, I think you need to see her amazing artwork.

Katt does custom illustrations!! This is a piece she did of me. Isn’t it adorable?!

Katt is absolutely amazing and is partnering with me to do a giveaway!!!! She is giving one lucky person $40 to her shop! You get to pick out your favorites and she will be throwing in a little surprise too! Head over to our Instagrams to enter!!
Me: cutiecameras Katt: pocketsizedobserver

Good luck! I know I’d be entering if I could!!

We have the power to imagine better

photo by Risa Rodil

First, how amazing is this image?! I found it on Pinterest, followed the link and found the crazy talented Risa Rodil. You have to check out her art!

Back to the topic at hand.

Let’s talk about change. We all have the ability to create change. The way you interact with others, the way you view the world, it all contributes to creating a better place for tomorrow. We all have magic inside us, we just need to let it out. So how do we initiate change?

We can initiate change with our actions. Be kind to others. Treat them with respect. Speak up when you witness injustice. Always remember that relationships are more important than money. Be awesome.

That is how you create change. Be your wonderful, caring self. We are all responsible for creating a brighter place for those that come after us. So get to it.

Lets talk about body hair

Fair warning. This post will feature opinions and thoughts. Watch out!

Lets talk about shaving. It is time consuming, tedious, expensive, and kind of a pain. Don’t get me wrong. I love the result. Smooth, hair-less skin: yes! But here is the thing. It doesn’t always end up smooth. It is bumby, itchy, irritated and even painful. OUCH!

So why do we put ourselves through it? When did we decide that shaving is a must. Well, let me tell you! It is pretty crazy.

Underarms: Back in 1915 Harper’s Bazaar, an upscale magazine, featured an ad with a woman scantily clad in a sleeveless, slip-like dress with both arms above her head. WHAT?!?! I know that is pretty wild. Well, back then women were expected to be covered. Modesty was valued and the style was to wear long dresses and long sleeves to uphold that value.

click image for source

That is why this advertisement was such a big deal. Not only did it use the taboo term “underarm” but it also featured a lady in next to nothing. This ad started a campaign aimed at selling women clothing that was more revealing while also selling them the hair removal products they would need to removal that “objectionable hair”.

From an advertising campaign perspective it was genius. Tell women they need to wear these revealing fashions and that they had to shave their body hair in order to do so. If they didn’t they were gross. Isn’t it strange to think that days before the ad above ran women never thought of underarm hair as a problem. The power of advertising is aparent from this single example.

So a campaign was deployed and women were continuously told that in order to keep trendy they had to shave and wear more revealing clothing. The idea slowly trickled down through the middle class and in 1922 the Sears Roebuck catalog started selling razors and sleeveless dresses. So that is shaving your underarms. When did shaving your legs gain popularity?

click image for source

Women were a little slower to jump on the bandwagon when it comes to shaving their legs. If you think about it the style was constantly changing. Hemlines became short and long again so women had a hard time justifying the need for shaving their legs. A big spark for the shaving your legs movement would be, in part, to the popularity of the pin up girl in World War II, and more specifically, the popularity of Betty Grable. Again, fashion dictated the need for shaved legs.

So there you have it. The history of shaving. I want to make it a point now to say that I want people to do what they want when it comes to shaving. Shave or don’t shave. That is up to you! Some people prefer to do it daily while others, like myself, do it once a week or once a month (depending on the time of year). Again, it is all a personal decision. Not too long ago shaving wasn’t even on our radars!

What I think is most important is for us not to look down on each other for their decisions. Don’t look at someone with disgust because they choose to not shave their underarms or legs and also don’t judge someone for shaving daily. We are aloud to love and do what we want to our own bodies. If it makes you happy then that is all that truly matters!

Be you and let others be them.

Information for this post was taken from this article.

 

The story behind my tattoo

I have several tattoos (surprised, aren’t you?) but my favorite, and by far the smallest, is my wrist tattoo. A small equal sign that lives on the middle of my right wrist. I was inspired by an older girl at my university. She was the coordinator for the Sexual Assault Peer Education Team at PLU and I thought she was the coolest. I was just getting into social justice when I met her and I thought the tattoo was a perfect way to represent my belief in equality.

I waited a year before getting it done so I could really think about it. I decided one day in-between classes that I wanted it. I walked down the street to the tattoo parlor and made the commitment. I had just enough time to run back to campus for my Women’s Literature class.

My small equal sign is the perfect conversation starter. People usually ask if I enjoy math, which I don’t, and I explain that it is an equal sign for equality. People then either tell me that it is awesome and we talk about social justice OR they say oh and change the subject.

Either way it tells them my beliefs without having to get into an intense conversation.

I love all of my tattoos but as I said, this is by far my favorite. When I throw up my right hand in solidarity, whether at a march or a concert, it demonstrates who I am and what I am about. I love it and it has become a part of my identity.

Do you have any tattoos?