Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cristin Klonowski. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cristin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

In 2004 I graduated from The Ohio State University in Art Education and dreamt of being an art teacher. Art was my life, it helped me manage stress and depression and I loved sharing it with others. I couldn’t find a job being an Art teacher so in 2007 I applied at my local big box retailer and quickly moved up in management becoming a Store Director by 2012, at one point running two-multimillion-dollar stores and overseeing a store launch in Canada. I loved this company but was then recruited by another retailer to be a Vice President for higher pay and less stress, so I said let’s go for it. It was very hard to me to assimilate to this new company, but I learned so much about business and really enjoyed all the people I got to work with. I fell ill with multiple mini-strokes in my brain and knew I couldn’t keep working in such stressful situations. At the end of 2019 while I was on a medical leave from my Vice President job for my mini-strokes my therapist and I decided I try refinishing and selling used furniture at a local art show. To my surprise I sold all 12 pieces of my vintage furniture and artwork during the 3day show and was asked to come to multiple other shows. This is when I realized I could do something different. My last store I worked for with this company ended up closing in 2020 and I was given a few months’ pay that I decided to use to open my own sustainable business.
This was definitely a risk for me because I have had a secure job and reliable healthcare for thirteen years. I knew I had developed new business skills as a store manager and I knew I was great at working with people. I started refinishing furniture and selling it on my Esty, it was being sold all across the country, then the pandemic hit. I knew I had to shift focus because people didn’t have money for luxury furniture anymore. I saw a need for face masks, so I busted out my mom’s vintage 1978 Kenmore sewing machine and taught myself how to sew again. I asked for old thread and fabrics from neighbors and friends via social media and together we made over 10,000 masks. Half of these masks were donated to hospitals and our community and then I started making a profit from them on my Etsy.
This is when I realized as business owner and artist that the product I was creating was going to continue to develop and change. I found some used bourbon barrel heads on Facebook Marketplace and knew that I could make something fun with them as a repurposed piece of decor. This is where my bourbon accessories line started. From there I continued to take risks with my product development and ideas and continued to sign up for art shows seeing what sold at each show. I saw a large smoking cloche at a restaurant one day for smoking drinks and I immediately wanted to create a version that was easy to use at home for my customers from my bourbon barrels. This is when my cocktail smoker was born. I utilized social media and found similar peers and people that liked bourbon and have become lifelong friends with them to continue to develop my cocktail smoker. I didn’t stop at that I applied and was accepted to numerous cocktail festivals and partnered with famous distilleries to promote my new smoker.
Then, I started seeing people copy my idea, a patent was way too expensive for me at the time, so I continued to branch out into more accessories and attire. I started making bourbon barrel wreaths, flight boards, lazy suzans, candles, signs, and more. Then the sky was the limit after that I continued to find found, used objects and repurpose them to align with my sustainable mission such as old quilts turned into bags, or my old mask fabric turned into patches.
I am now up to the most shows I’ll ever do in a year this 2023 and I get to work for myself in my home with my family and my four cats. I can work at my own pace and continue to take risks with new handmade products. My repeat customers are always looking for what’s next that I’ve created, and I love my new life.

Cristin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into art at a young age and was blessed with a very creative mind. My family, and especially my Grandma Helen was very frugal, always finding use for discards. These discards included old jars, furniture on the side of the road (trash picking day was so embarrassing as a child), buttons, safety pins, rubber bands, you name it, it was saved. As I grew into my mission as an artist and started becoming more involved in home decor shows I fell back onto my roots of utilizing found objects and making some element of my product sustainable. So, I named my business “ck” for my initials “helen” for my grandma and “studio” to include all of the things that I may come with to make.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I believe if you want to stay relevant you need to be on social media platforms. Look around you anywhere you go….people are ON their phones. Your business presence should be there too. Creating your name is the most important thing to start with. When I was deciding on my name I didn’t want to be “ck bourbon” because I know myself too well and I love making all sorts of stuff that’s not JUST bourbon. I met someone that names their company after their ceramic garlic grinder, and I second guessed them because now how do they branch out beyond that niche of a product? Oh, and make sure people can spell it! Then, get comfortable posting things you’re doing or selling. Start following other small businesses like yourself, or other IG that have the same interests. Like and comment on their posts, find someone you’re genuinely interested in to connect with. It takes time to build a network and following. If you are good at tik-tok, go for it, customers are addicted to it and if you can get your message out there via this platform you will have success.
Be yourself in your stories, your followers want to see what you’re up to, how’s your day. This is a great way to personally connect with them.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I started by selling on Etsy. It may seem overwhelming at first, but it really is one of the best ways to start. I still sell on Etsy and I’m ok with their fees and prices, but now I also have my own website that I developed myself through my business banking department called Ecwid. I found some platforms to be very confusing and I am not a wiz at website development. I also attach my etsy and website to a new link in my IG called “linktree” where followers can find my store, and my upcoming shows all in one click.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ckhelenstudio.com
• Instagram: @ckhelenstudio
• Facebook: @ckhelenstudio
• Linkedin: cristin Klonowski

Image Credits
these are my own images