THE  WREN  COLLECTION

Hi! I’m Kristy (also known as Wren - my middle name). I was raised mostly in Oregon by super supportive parents, one of whom was a teacher and gave me loads of opportunities to (ah-em) explore (think many many messes in the house) my artistic style. I went to Wesmont college in Santa Barbara, CA graduating with a BA in art in 2004 and married a man who shared my love for graphic design and various other art forms. We had two of our three kids soon after, moved to Kauai in 2006 and I have worked for 20+ years as an artist via a variety of mediums.

 

When my oldest two were very small, I created a line of children’s apparel which is when "the Wren Collection" was originally born. I drew by day, vectorized artwork during naps and my hubby (who is a super talented screen printer) would print the apparel. When our keiki were a tad older, I helped launch and co-run a children’s art studio here on the island which landed under the umbrella of a non-profit called KUGA (Kauai Underground Artists). This began with longing for my own keiki to have the opportunity to explore every possible art medium. Finding nothing of the sort on-island, my friend and I dove head-first into creating what we envisioned. I was given the opportunity to create loads of ads (see @kuga_visual_arts), designs, posters, flyers etc etc. while working with this non-profit which simply served to further hone my graphic design skills. 

 

The more recent years have included branding and design for a number of other clients both on island and mainland as well as for a company I co-established in 2018 called “Hawaii Says HI” located within Warehouse3540. I've designed apparel, totes and tea towels plus packaging and stickers for this biz plus a myriad of designs for the Warehouse. With the onset of Covid in 2020 we were forced to rethink how and why we did "Hawaii Says HI" and pivoted into created Kaua'i's first sustainable goods refill shop we called "Refill Kaua'i". Within this space, my business partner and I also have a deep love for creating our own jewelry line, Mira Kaua'i (think pounded gold) and of course, I designed the branding for this as well. Needless to say, I am ambitious and LOVE designing. I see art mostly in the form of lines when I close my eyes because I saturate my imagination with colors, lines and all the possibilities of combining the two. I don’t shy away from difficult projects but am also clear on knowing my lane and what I can and cannot do. I give my absolute best and notice the tiniest details in what makes a design work (or not). Did you know the blank space surrounding the design is as vital as the design itself?

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I mainly work in a program called Illustrator allowing me to create high-resolution (vector) artwork that can be enlarged or shrunk without detriment to image quality. My jam is line art and I have a major love for typography and hand-lettering (yes, there actually is a difference). I also love learning what you/your business is about then bringing to visual life what you share in words. Take some time to scroll through my portfolio and you will get a sense of what I am capable of and see the collection of art I have designed over many years as a graphic designer. Please contact me if you have questions or think we might be a good fit for branding or design. Tons of Aloha!!