Meet Kim DiVine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim DiVine.

Kim, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I found my love for singing at a young age. I learned that I had a voice in High School choir and musicals. It wasn’t until college where I picked up the guitar. I was dating a musician at the time, and that inspired me to try to write my own music. I still have the journal with my very first lyrics – they were awful. No one starts out writing hits, it takes time and practice. After I wrote my first song, I felt a rush. Once I wrote some more and started sharing them with others, I knew I had a love for this and felt it was something I needed to do.

After college, I spent a year playing around town and recorded my first album, while working a day job doing sales for a commercial radio station. My heart longed for something more than my small town (Holden, Massachusetts) so I quit my job, packed my bags and drove across the country with my best friend. We decide San Diego was the place to land. It felt like a movie actually… convertible top down, singing at the top of our lungs, driving through never ending roads.

After settling into our life in PB, it wasn’t long before my friend decided San Diego was not for her and moved back home. I knew I had to stay. I went there to pursue music, so that is what I did. I was there alone but I emersed myself in the music scene. I went out to every open mic and started to make friends. I found the popular spots to play, and before I knew it, I was performing all over and people knew who I was. I recorded music and made a mark. It was a truly wonderful time for me and a huge learning experience, and I will always be grateful to SD for that. In 2007 I decided it was time to make the move to Los Angeles.

LA was so much bigger and more competitive than San Diego, but I found my place here as well. I’ve always been a creative person, and I get that from my mother who was also an entrepreneur. While playing music, I also found a love for making jewelry. I started out back in Massachusetts making jewelry from guitar picks and selling them at local music stores. In LA I started hand stamping, and then in 2013 it became more serious, and I started selling on Etsy and then later created my own website. Along with music, designing and crafting jewelry is such a happy place for me.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing is ever smooth when trying to be your own boss and following your passions. It can be more rewarding than a job you don’t particularly care too much about, but it can also be much more challenging. My mother was a successful entrepreneur, and she warned me how tough it could be. There have been many struggles.

More lows than highs. I’ve learned that you hear “No” more often than “Yes,” but if you keep at it those “No’s” will become less and less. I truly believe if you want something bad enough you will give it your everything to become great at it. I stayed up late working on my songwriting, guitar playing, practicing my performance skills, playing open mic after open mic, networking. I believe that perseverance and hardwork will fuel great things.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a singer/songwriter. I write and perform. I also try to get my songs placed in film and television. Every artist has their own unique sound and style of music. I write pop songs, for the most part, some folk influences as well. I play guitar, ukulele, and piano. My jewelry design business, Kim DiVine Jewelry focuses on metalwork, crafting modern, delicate pieces that can complement most any style. I specialize in personalized pieces via metal hand stamping. I also solder and craft my own handmade designs.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I had been dreaming of hearing one of my songs on Sirius XM for years. I recorded a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” back in 2014. I had send it in but received no response.

Years later, I still knew my ukulele rendition of this classic song was perfect for The Coffeehouse station. So I found a really creative way to get it to the program director. He emailed me blown away by my creativity and also loved the track.

It started playing on the station the next day and has been running for almost a year now. I still get giddy every time I hear it in the car. Another big career moment was being the singer behind JELL-O’s big re-branding campaign a few years back. I sang the jingle, and it aired nationally across TV, radio, and internet.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kimdivine.com | www.kimdivinejewelry.com
• Email: [email protected] | [email protected]
• Instagram: @kimdivine | @kimdivinejewelry
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kimdivinemusic | www.facebook.com/kimdivinejewelry
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/kimdivine

Image Credit:
Lena Parker-Duncan

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