// MONTREAL - A DELIGHTFUL ESCAPE

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5 hours on the train, I find myself in Montreal—a city that has always held a special place in my heart. Croissant-filled mornings, the French accents, wine at 4 pm, vibey restaurants & cocktail bars. A world of joie de vivre. A delightful escape. I am working on a new restaurant in Miami opening this month so I went to see my suppliers to double check production before it was shipped out. This mural is the most detailed piece of artwork I have done. Over 10000 million hours of hand painting, layout correction, mural placement, color correction, cleaning, correcting, then correcting some more. I discovered a new level of mental endurance. K, back to painting butterflies. x C

// BTS CKD'S NEW LINE COMING SOON!

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You know that quote by Ira Glass? The one about the inevitable gap every beginner is going to go through when creating work? “It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close the gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions… it’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through. “ well it’s taken me almost a decade to get here. The new work coming out of CKD is a reflection of the patience, of all the work I’ve put out that didn’t feel quite right but didn’t give up. I’m stepping into the designer, artist and business woman I always dreamed off. The woman I always felt was inside of me but knew I wasn’t ready for her yet. I’ve worked my ass off just to get here, just to get to my official beginning. This is feels like day one.

// SOME LATELY

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The work load has been heavy. Trying to be intentional with moments of downtime to rest and breathe and to just be. There is a lot going on, and it’s stuff I used to dream about being a part of. I am thankful for all of it, just no one tells you about how much work it truly is :) K back to painting butterflies. Happy Sunday! x

// A RESET

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Hello from Canada :) I spent last weekend in nature with my friends and fam. A reset. A weekend with no phone, no work, no computer. Just my camera. I am teaching myself how to do nothing. I realized in LA I am pretty bad at it. I am very good at keeping myself very busy while alone. I never really sat alone and allowed myself to be bored. Allowed my mind to think about nothing. So I’ve been practicing, and the first couple times were awful. I have been going through some personal stuff lately that obviously came to the surface. So I would feel it for like 2 minutes then get uncomfortable and go on a hike. After the 4th or 5th time I didn’t run off and go on a hike, I sat with the stuff. and it wasn’t so bad. By the 8th or 10th time of doing this I realized that the silence, me, the aloneness was enough. It was a space that did not need to be filled with anything. It just was. I could just be.

August was a lot. The work load, the deadlines due, the Miami to LA back to Miami, the hotels to friend's homes back to hotels, to living out of suitcases, the rental cars. To trying to build a business in the middle of all of it. No one tells you how hard this is. It takes a lot of mental power to keep motivated and inspired through it all. To be able to be present for clients, and friends. I wouldn’t change it, but my new lesson is having check-ins with myself to make sure I am taking the breaks needed. Making the right choices - not just from my intuition but from my mind too.

It’s prep time for me. I’ve never felt so focused and sure on what is coming next. A rebirth is here. It came with the death or a shedding of parts of myself that no longer served me. Things really do happen in the perfect timing. The challenge is the patience and wait until it’s time. And when it is time you’ll feel it. I promise you, you’ll feel it. It’s like there is no other answer other than jump.

K, back to work Happy Friday x

// SHE'S WORKING!

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Hi from LA :) Just landed this morning straight on-site to the Moxy Hotel. The Houston Brothers are opening an insane concept called Level 8. LA is in for a treat :) I was on-site in Miami yesterday looking over a new project for Groot Hospitality. The artwork for this project is probably one of the most detailed CKD has done. 10000 hours and counting lol. Almost there. Other than that, I have a new collection coming out that I am in love with already. Watercolor leopard. The colorways are cool. Muna and I have some greatttttt things happening behind the scenes for the CKD book and the rebrand of the company. So many moving parts, but I oddly operate better and more efficient when I am busy. k back to work xx

// A LITTLE SOUTH OF FRANCE

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I was sitting alone at Hotel de Crillon in Paris on the eve of my birthday. I don’t really love celebrating my birthday with a lot of people. Birthdays have always felt heavy. A heaviness I want to be alone to process. Or maybe this is a product of me being alone often. I have fallen in love with eating dinner by myself. Lol, maybe I should stop being such a loner - but I love it here. From Jan to now, life felt like it was moving at lightening speed. From personal to work, the universe was serving its lessons to keep up with the growth. Felt like one lesson after the other. I handled them, but sometimes they threw me. I ask a lot of my life. I wanted friendships that felt like family, friendships that are loyal, not jealous and fun. Friends who lift me up and pour into me as much as I pour into them. I asked to live out my dreams - which comes with a heavy level of commitment and dedication. I love what I do and I am thankful to be able to do it. I asked for evolution of self, to meet my highest self. To walk in my purpose. I asked for my true love. My little unit I can call my own. My partner, my best friend. Still waiting on this (wink)…

Because I ask for a lot, I will be given a lot and not all of it is good. I have had my self worth tested this year. Those moments hurt and threw me off my centre. But now I understand they were just shaking me to open my eyes and see it for what it was. Everything is always working for my greatest good. Nothing is a personal attack, and sadly in all of those situations it was the other person blaming me for their shit that had nothing to do with me. Do not dim your light for anyone, get to know yourself so well - even all the bad stuff you don’t want to look at. If you don’t people will try to tell you what you are , who you are and what you are not. If you’re not strong enough, you’ll believe them. On the other hand, I was also introduced to wonderful humans I call family. Friends who have opened their homes, heart and their time. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I am sitting in the studio writing this, A little hungover from Beyonce’s concert last night, feeling immensely grateful for all of it. I spent two weeks in the South of France with friends who I have been lucky to meet on my journey.

K, just saying hi :) I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful summer energy. Feels like a fresh beginning. And I’m walking into this new door with my head high.

// MEXICO

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I’ve spent a lot of time in Mexico over the last two years. I’ve been lucky to explore Mexico from Cabo, to Puerto Escondido, to Tulum, to Mexico City, to La Paz, to San Agustin Buenavista. I ordered dinner last night in Spanish, without realizing that I was speaking Spanish. And I just sat there for a second and I thought… how cool is that. When I was living in NYC I would meet these groups of friends who traveled together, lived all over the world, were all living lives they loved, and were like family. And here I am sitting at the Mexico City airport a little hungover from Dana’s 40th in Puerto Escondido, ordering my dinner in a language I did not know how to speak two years ago. SO much can change in just a year.