SCK Staff Interview: Andi (Crafts)

For SCK’s 10 year anniversary, we’ve been sharing interviews with all the SCK staff. This is the last one so I hoped you enjoyed getting to know us a little better.

Andi is our most recent recruit, joining the SCK team in 2017 to help review craft kits and share the best of YouTube. I’m very grateful not to have to struggle my way through candy kits any more as she is much better at it than me! She also creates some super cute original DIYs for you to try. Read all Andi’s posts here >>

Introduce yourself!

Hello! I’m Andrea, but I go by Andi most of the time. In my spare time I love to read, travel, play Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, and (of course) craft! One of my dreams is to own a successful web shop, but for now I work as an assistant manager in a store and attend university.

Where do you live and what’s it’s like there?

I live in a very small town in the southern part of Georgia in the US. I grew up next to the ocean and I am not close enough to it for my liking, but there is a lot of farmland and wooded areas, so there’s always a cute animal to spot somewhere!

Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t guess from your SCK posts

Like Natasja, I also tend to wear darker clothing more than very colorful kawaii outfits. I also have a really dark sense of humor and a healthy love of horror films!

How did you become interested in kawaii culture?

Around 10 years ago, I happened to stumble upon the kawaii art and craft community on DeviantArt. This immediately led to me falling down the rabbit hole of research, looking for any and all information I could get on the topic.

How did you find SCK?

This research also led me to SCK. It was sometime in early 2009, and I remember seeing a feature on ShopKawaii that basically kickstarted my kawaii stationery fever. I also remember the first post on the Popin’ Cookin’ candy kits a bit later. I was amazed and instantly went looking for ways to get my hands on them.

What cute products or characters can you never resist adding to your kawaii collection?

I try to stick to small items, so space doesn’t become an issue, which is a struggle sometimes! I like to collect small plushes and keychains, though the most irresistible items to me always end up being memo pads and stickers. Cinnamoroll and Little Twin Stars merch have always been a weakness, and lately I’ve been obsessively buying anything with Kamio’s Mochi Mochi Panda on it!

What have been your highlights of writing for SCK and which posts are you most proud of?

A big highlight of SCK for me has been just having the ability to write about things that I enjoy and having others to share that with. The reviews in particular are always a joy to write because I enjoy discussing things in depth and introducing others to fun new products. My top 2 favorite reviews so far have been the Chebeto Mini Cthulhu plush kit and Pocky Decorating Machine.

Another highlight has been coming up with and sharing original tutorials. My posts on how to make a Korilakkuma felt brooch and Halloween Gudetama pumpkin have been some of my absolute favorites to write and look forward to writing more like those in the future.

What are your current favourite Instagram accounts?

I use Instagram as the main source for my creative inspiration, so I mainly follow cute accounts that will help keep me inspired to craft or make some kind of art.

• I’ve always loved clay miniatures, and @bonnechance_yuri is my top favorite account for those.
• For planner and journal doodle ideas, I often look to @feerieworld for help.
• @miki.takei is one of my holy grail artists, so her photos always help me with color palette choices, whether it’s for a craft or coloring.
• For needle felting ideas, I always enjoy browsing @saori_surunnuage’s feed since it’s full of small and cute pieces.

Where else can we find you online?

On Twitter and Instagram.

Anything else you’d like to know? Ask in the comments!