She’s Got Moxie: Kristina Scobie

20 THINGS YOU

DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT KRISTINA SCOBIE

Creative Director for both Noteworthy by Design and Amplify Marketing

Meet the creative behind the Kalamazoo-area’s go-to for cards and invitations.

1I HAVE OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN GRAPHIC

DESIGN. In the last couple of years, I’ve had the opportunity to not only be Creative Director of Noteworthy, but manager of a beautiful boutique shop! One of my favorite pastimes is shopping for inventory! It definitely cures me from overshopping for myself when I can shop for everyone else! 2 One of my favorite things to design are wedding invitations.

They’re an early glimpse into a couple’s most special day. It’s such a wonderful feeling when clients adore their invitation suite and drop them into the mail feeling like they’re sharing a bit of themselves with their guests.

3I once worked with a woman who taught me the best way to get to know someone on a more personal level.

She explained you just need to ask them to share three of their passions. I’ve since added a few rules: No

“spending time with family and friends,” no “travel,” and no “foodie” passions unless they’re really specific. It forces people to think more deeply and share more juicy details. 4 I LOVE TOURS. Boat tours, bike tours, walking tours, haunted tours, anything! Especially home tours with guides dressed in period costume. One of my favorite vacation destinations is

Newport, Rhode Island: A tourist’s dream come true! 5 I grew up on what I would consider a small farm. We spent our time swimming in cow troughs, bailing hay and playing outside. We were forever exploring and doing things I would deem far too dangerous for my own kiddos. My horse ran away once and we had to chase it down the road in the car, hanging out the window to slow her down.

6I LOVE GAMES. I’ve got an entire wall of board games we periodically play our way through, putting games in yes/no piles just to keep our collection under control. Some of my favorites right now: Pub Trivia, Monikers, Mysterium, The Bob Ross Art of Chill, and One Night Ultimate Werewolf, among many others! That being said, stay away from Scrabble, Monopoly and Yahtzee. Just the worst in my opinion. 7 My dad worked as a lineman for Consumers Energy and built everything out of used telephone poles. We had a cool clubhouse and a swing set that looked like they were made for giants because of it. 8 My brother, sister and I could not be more different. My sister is an artist and what anyone would consider a free spirit, my brother is an engineer and a bit of a hermit and I’m smack dab in the middle. We all love each other despite our differences, and people are flabbergasted when I tell them we never fought as children. We truly didn’t. My own children are making up for that blip in normalcy.

9Speaking of… I have two children who are insanely talented little human beings. My daughter, Fiona, is my mad scientist; always creating, making messes and wreaking havoc. My son, Liam is my little artist. He’s always saying he’ll either be an architect, florist, or artist when he grows up, but I don’t doubt he’ll be all three.

A modern renaissance man.

10 My husband attended grad school at UConn and dragged me to Connecticut after college. It turned out to be some of the most exciting years of our lives. We loved being just a few short hours from NYC and Boston. We were able to call in sick and run down to the city to watch TV tapings or attend Broadway shows, visit museums, or eat amazing food whenever we fancied. 11 I hate sports. I love watching my kiddos play, but don’t even try to turn on football in my presence. The constant drone of the audience just kills my mood. I just don’t understand people who watch sports 24/7. (Sorry father-in-law.) 12 I LOVE CRAFTING. I’m sure it stems from my elementary school teacher mom, who has always been the queen of school-crafts. I hope my children look back on their childhoods someday and just cringe with how many crafts I made them do. That’s what I would consider a job well done. 13 I’ve been lucky enough in my design career to work on so many amazing brands! From National Geographic and Crayola, to Journeyman Distillery, Crockpot, Mr. Coffee, Yankee Candle and so many more! I’m so proud of the work I’ve done and look forward to many more years of fantastic clients. 14 I know I’m one of a million people who are obsessed with HGTV and playing interior designer at home, but it truly makes me happy to have a beautiful environment in which to live. I even convinced my husband that a pink paneled wall in the dining room would be amazing! He’s learned to trust me and has grown to love it. 15 When I got married, I dedicated myself to doing as much as possible to save money on the wedding. I spent every evening leading up to the big day creating and assembling the invitation, etching glass vases as favors, and taking cake-making classes in order to make my own 5-tier wedding cake! I still use those skills each year to make my kiddos dream birthday cakes. 16 I once faked going to the gym three times a week for several months because I didn’t want to tell my husband that I didn’t feel like going any longer. I began by sitting in the car for a bit and ended up sitting at our kitchen table. One morning he walked in on me and discovered my ruse. I’ll never live it down.

17 It’s always been on my to-do list to work my way through an entire cookbook from front to back, cooking and trying every recipe, no matter my initial thoughts on each. I’ll do it one day. I just have to find the right one! Open to suggestions! 18 My YouTube guilty pleasures include unboxing videos, try-on videos and home biz stationery entrepreneurs. I also really enjoy Hot Ones, Mia Maples and Emma Chamberlain when she’s actually

DOING something. Oh, and my sister! (Follow local Artist, Julia Haw!) There is SO much interesting content on YouTube.

19 I LOVE THRIFT SHOPPING.

It truly makes me happy to score an amazing find at a great price. I’m also not above picking up treasures on bulk-trash day. That’s even MORE satisfying!

20 I’ve got a stash of around 20-30 framed boards in my basement just waiting for me to paint! I think I would truly enjoy making and selling original artwork but at this point, I just haven’t had time to begin! One day… One day.