Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Kroon.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in the heart of The Netherlands. I first studied Fashion and continued my education in Business, so I could learn the business side as well. After a short career in the Internet business I pursued my dream career in Fashion. I worked for the Dutch Fashion brand ‘Gaastra’, toured all over Europe for work and loved my job.
Working and living in Amsterdam was great. Lived in one of those very old channel houses (1830) in the city center which has this great, free and global but still small ambiance. traveled as well many times abroad to countries in Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Dubai, Australia, South Africa, and many other destinations.
Then I got the opportunity to radically change my life and relocate to Los Angeles, because of the work of my husband. I did not hesitate a second. This created this amazing chance to create a completely new life in a different continent with a new culture, friends, society, etc. The Californian lifestyle with its amazing weather has not failed expectations. This also goes for my friends and family who came to visit me. The number of guests is adding on every year, our place is almost a hotel.
Being the host for all of our guests (and we are talking >60 per year that stay for 1-3 weeks per stay) is great, but I also felt the need to do something creative again and something that I can call my own. So I started taking classes in ceramics and went back to college to get more educated by professor Katie Queen. Quickly I discovered that the creative process was something I secretly craved for a long time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think it’s more rewarding in general if it’s not smooth sailing. You need to struggle a bit in life to really to truly enjoy the success. I have Dyslexia, so I had to work much harder during my education but when I graduated it was all worth it and so I am not taking education for granted at all. One of the reasons I went back to college was to get more educated in Ceramics. Also, in my previous work I had to work just a bit harder as a woman to get the promotions and pay increases that, I deserved. But again when I got them, it was sweet.
Relocating to a new continent was fun and also hard. You basically leave everything behind and have to start from scratch like meeting new friends. It also gives you this amazing new start but still not a smooth drive. Getting into Ceramics was actually kind of a smooth ride, as far for the creative part. It has been so much fun and satisfaction that it never was a struggle. What was much harder than I expected is that if you want to be a Ceramic Artist, you don’t have to create only beautiful pieces, but it also involves setting up a mini company doing sales, marketing, finance, shipping, etc. And this was much harder than I expected.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Kroon Creation story. Tell us more about the business.
Setting up a Ceramics company was harder than expected and certainly took more time than desired. However if you want to create and sell, then you need to do that as well. Think about Sales & Marketing, Accounting, Ordering/Processing/Shipping, Support and more. What I would like to do is just creating but you have to do the other parts of the business as well. And although it’s distracting in a way, it also helps you focus and connect. If you would just create and not hear what people say about your work (support, sales & marketing), you would miss good and valuable feedback and input. For example, last week I got orders in from Austria and Australia, how do I get the pieces to them in one piece? If I am not involved or care and just ship it and it breaks, that is not good. So being involved in all aspects of the company is important to make me a whole well rounded Ceramic Artist. I want to understand the entire process, so know what parts I can let go with confidence.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
This is a hard question. Looking back at my life so far, I feel very lucky. I also know that I have worked really hard to get where I am. Nothing was handed on a silver platter, nor did I win the lottery, but because of the hard work and also some setbacks, the success and life I have now feels even better. So I feel lucky, but it was not luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.krooncreation.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krooncreation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KroonCreation/
Image Credit:
Kim Kroon & Jeroen van der Weijden
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