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

Alright, Kristina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents did a lot of things right and owe my work ethic and determination to them. Both my mom and dad worked extremely hard but always had time to teach, love and support.

When it came to picking what college to go and what type of career to pursue; they supported those choices. My mom came from a creative family and while her job was at a bank; she taught me every creative skill she could. Volunteering was also something my mom instilled in me and is something that also drives me everyday.

Balance was something they tried to also teach through their extreme hard work and balance of doing things with friends or family. I grew up always on the go but really enjoyed staying busy and bring productive. I try and practice that in my daily life with fitting in the gym and balancing other hobbies with being a small business owner.

Kristina, 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?

While I was born with the full name Kristina Kendrick; everyone calls me KK. I’m based in California and own and run an active lifestyle brand; KKAPPROVED. I hand make adorable fruit shaped chalk bags for disc golf, the gym, climbing and any other sports. I grew up playing all of the sports and have super sweaty hands. During the pandemic I couldn’t find anytime to keep my hands dry and with my sewing background I decided to make my own hand drying product. The first shape I made was a banana and the community I was living in was super supportive and encouraging. I was asked to make other shapes like a strawberry, orange slice, eggolant, watermelon and many others. I’ve made custom orders of hundreds of my product for tournaments and I really enjoy working with event directors.

I have a website that I sell my products as well as my product is carried in a handful of businesses; mostly in California. On my website I also have accessories like socks and stickers as well as my own line of disc golf discs. I also really enjoy sponsoring other players and donating items to events across the country. I am really avid on social media and have build a highly engaged community that supports and shares my brand. I have found that genuine engagement has allowed me to grow in am authentic way.

My goal has always been to share things I love and provide products that I would use myself. My line has been driven by the community and love how organic what I’ve built has stayed over the last 4 years. Each custom project I work on allows me to work with a client and bring them with me along the way. I love chatting about the ideas and sharing the prototypes along the way. I think clean communication and collaboration have been strengths as I’ve built my brand.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Custom orders for tournaments or events are my favorite thing about what I do. Seeing something I’ve made out in the world is the best feeling ever. These orders usually come with deadlines and are the trickiest part of the job. A few Summers ago I got a message from a woman hosting a Halloween doubles tournament. She asked for 60 pumpkin shaped chalk bags and I was excited to work on them. The following week she messages me and said she needed 85 and I had to readjust my time-line in order to ship them on time. Two days later she asked if I could make a total of 102 and I knew I had to make it happen. I had to rework my time-line again and figured out a way to finish on time. I knew I couldn’t disappoint her guests and was just so honored to be asked to be involved. These events also allow me to get my product in new clients hands and see how great it is for themselves.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Being kind has always been my goal and mission while on my creative journey. I was raised by two very kind humans and thing that’s always my goal in all areas of life. Making people happy and spreading joy have always been mottos and are what drive me and my actions everyday. Life is short and should be filled with fun and building people up with humor and positive encouragement. I’m able to do this online, when I play events and in the traveling I do each year.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: KK_APPROVED
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kkapproved1270?si=EKEqmd2ud1ieapC4
• Other: https://linktr.ee/kkapproved

Image Credits

Billy Pierce
Bill Allen