a few words, heart and soul

Etsy is composed of thousands upon thousands of sellers. I formed my business, Kissa Design, in 2007, after working a 9 to 5 in advertising and publishing for many years, although I think my business had been coalescing, gradually, from my many different interests, along my particular path through life. 

I joined Etsy in 2009, and reintroduced a unique form of paper ornament making to the big wide web world when I listed my first ornaments for sale that year under my own brand name, Star Urchins™. The interest in my work has been astounding.  

I have been making these ornaments all of my life. They are a traditional Polish form of folk art called jeżyk, originally made from tissue paper to use as decoration during the harvest and holiday seasons more than 100 years ago. I was taught as a child by my mother who learned how to make them from a dear Polish friend when they were teenagers, and who intentionally brought them forward into my creative lexicon as a hands-on way to connect me to my Polish heritage.

My Etsy shop has become my body of work, my portfolio, created over many years, and was based on a tiny glimmer of an idea: to shine a modern light on a traditional, even humble, folk art craft that has been near and dear to me, and to move it beyond the Christmas tree into the realm of year-round decorative use. 

I created a vast, vivid and colorful, one-of-a-kind collection of paper artworks, and built it from the ground-up, based on my exploration of different textures, forms, sizes and techniques. During this process I created ornaments both little and large, hand-glittered "Sparklers", tree toppers, stemmed bouquets and magnets, "Wall Urchins" and more, hand-formed from my vision and imagination. At the time of my shop's inception, there were no other sellers of this particular craft form to imitate. 

My work is my own, my shop was fully conceptualized by me. My over 1300 Etsy sales represent thousands of handmade works shipped around the globe, all handmade by me. My words written throughout my shop, my web site, my blog and everywhere else are all my own. My photography, styling and editing are my own. My brand is my own. All of the press I have been so fortunate to receive has evolved from my own merit. I am an example of an independent artisan, the heart and soul of an original small handmade business started from scratch, literally from a blank sheet of paper. And I thank you, sincerely, for your continued patronage, past, present and onward throughout the new years. -Kathleen./Kissa Design

about the artist: Kissa Design

Kathleen has been a gardener all her life, and was called a "free spirit" early on, due to her carefree yet spirited personality. After receiving a B.A. in archaeology and English literature at the University of Michigan, she worked at a national advertising agency for many years.

"It was a good experience overall, and I learned a lot about that side of business, but I always felt a strong pull towards my other more creative interests, and to working with my hands, so I started exploring some of the traditional crafts handed down through my family." Thus, her business, Kissa Design, was born in 2007. Kissa, which means "cat" in Finnish, is a play on her nickname, Kat, and is also a nod to her Finnish heritage.

"I especially enjoyed exploring the paper folk art ornament first taught to me when I was a child; it became a means to connect me to my Polish heritage. At different points in history it was called a porcupine ball in the U.S., but its name was derived from the Polish word jeżyk, meaning hedgehog. Today, this type of ornament is most commonly referred to as a 'Polish star'." She presented her colorful, modern work to a new generation of crafters through the handmade marketplace Etsy, and a global revitalization of the craft soon followed. Kathleen says that her popular handcrafted ornaments, which she named Star Urchins™, are the perfect marriage between current vintage and modern design aesthetics. Her work has appeared in Coastal Living, The Wall Street Journal, and in Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living and BUST magazines, as well as on numerous blogs and web sites, including BuzzFeed, HGTV.com, Apartment Therapy, Design*Sponge, Food52 and more.

Kathleen is a certified Master Gardener with a passion for transforming small static urban landscapes into personalized retreats. "I like to encourage harmonies between nature and the urban environment, to infuse age-old gardening techniques with modern strategies. Why not try to grow corn in the city?", she urges. "My Finnish mother grew up in the country, adjoining a family farm in the Upper Peninsula, where land and fresh produce were plentiful; my Polish father on the east side of Detroit. But even his family had a small vegetable plot, and they also raised chickens there. I really feel I am a good blend of the two. I am 'a tale of two gardeners', and I guess you could say that I'm 'a tale of two peninsulas' as well. I deeply crave connecting with the earth the way farmers do, and the serenity and sense of space that the Upper Peninsula can provide, but I still enjoy the diversity of cultures and the challenges of a more urban environment."

In addition to having been a garden design consultant, illustrator and coach, she is an artist who has designed across many media, from digital page to paper, and has produced countless drawings, paintings and other handcrafted goods throughout the years. Her primary design influences come from nature and her family's many crafting traditions.

"Above all, I believe everyone, no matter where they live, should have beautiful surroundings..." she says.

A vital part of her personal surroundings are what could be called "unearthed treasures." Her passion for neatly designed antique, vintage and modern furniture, art and decor led her to open a second Etsy shop that she hopes to continue to expand upon in the future.

Kathleen currently lives in small community near Detroit, Michigan USA. She calls her own backyard "... a continual work in progress/test lab," and each year adds to her "moonlit garden" intoxicating fragrances and dreamy colors of soft whites, pastels, and silvery blues and greens, mixed with bright accents of modern color.

on the shore of Lake Superior, in Michigan's U.P.

sentimental structure

my new metal pea/cucumber fence and re-stained deck

my old handmade trellis, RIP

I've had some time to work on projects on the home front, including re-staining my old deck (it looks brand-new!). But I knew that the old stick trellis I'd made many seasons ago to support my annual pea and cucumber vines wouldn't make it through another growing season; it was time for an upgrade.

Although I missed my spring pea planting window (I may plant a fall crop this year instead), I went overboard in the cucumber department, planting two varieties and several seedlings in relatively close quarters. But I know this new trellis will handle it. Will it be a good cucumber season? I hope so, but my friends and neighbors may not; some seasons have been so prolific that I felt as though they were avoiding me during the harvest season... (but what's a few dozen cucumbers among friends?)

And yes, I know I had a silly sentimental attachment to the rickety handmade wooden structure I'd been using for so many years and nursing along well beyond its useful life. But structures become part of the personal landscape of a garden over time; one grows accustomed to their tireless (and literal) support year after year. So the old trellis is awaiting it's final sendoff, a final repurposing of sorts, into kindling for a Midsummer bonfire. RIP, you served me well.

Are you sentimental about a garden structure?