fantasy old factory: TFS: T Lo Interviews Kristin

She likes us! She really, really likes us!

Kristin?
Well, it’s actually Strawberry Shortcake.

We were wondering if you read the blog.
Yes, I love your blog [laughs].

So, are all your friends going to call you Strawberry Shortcake from now on?
Yes, I’m actually really inspired by that nickname, so let’s see what happens with it.

We were shocked that you left the competition. What happened, girl? Did you feel it was too demanding, too hard?
The whole bit about my skin not being thick enough and all that stuff, you know. You’re making a reality TV show. It wasn’t so much about me as a designer, which is how I view it. I’m a fashion designer, I’m a business woman and I’m not a reality star or a TV personality, so I just had to put myself in that situation where I could see those things and not have all these limitations and the eccentric personalities around me. The whole “you’re hanging by a thread comment”? I’m just a no-strings-attached kind of girl. I kind of bowed out.

Is that what you had in mind when you said that it was in your best interest to go home?
Yes, definitely. I’ve got a lot of other things going on and if I’m going to be that stressed out about something, I’d rather spend it working on my own company and doing what I love to do.

We didn’t think that your design was bad at all. We thought it was a young, fresh take that we could easily see on someone young.

What did you think of Isaac’s comment about not being sure whether “a person like that should be in the business?"
I think Isaac’s comment made for very good TV. I didn’t take it that hard. I’m sure that when Isaac started every design he knocked out wasn’t supposed to be the way it was. I’m sure that every outfit he did wasn’t great. I’m 23 years old, I’m still new and young at it. Just the whole idea that they thought it was one of the worst really baffled me. Yeah , you're right, it was a younger look, it was a young take. I didn’t get the demographics sheet when I was designing, so I don’t know why everybody thought I had to design something for a thirty-five year old woman. That’s my market, girls between 18 and 22. That’s what I design for, that’s what I know how to do, and if that’s what I am limited to, then that’s fine, there’s a huge market for it and I’m comfortable with it.

Do you regret your decision to leave the show?
Do I regret my decision? Absolutely not. There’s nothing that I did on that show that I regret, everything you saw was 100% Strawberry Shortcake.

Now, we have to ask you this as we’re sure our readers are going to comment on it: Didn’t you know that it was going to be, first and foremost, a reality TV show; that it was going to be like that?
Yes, I did, I read every sentence of my contract. I knew the premise of Project Runway; I’ve watched enough reality TV shows, you know that’s what you’re getting into. I guess the issue that I had was that there’s nothing to prepare you for it. What you expect and what you anticipate, it was totally something else when I got there. I just realized really quickly that it wasn’t for me. I know who I am and that’s why I acted that way.

It’s a very bold decision to just leave like that after all you had to go through to get on the show.
Like I said, I know who I am and I know when something’s right and when something’s wrong. I’m really proud that everybody else is there, speaking louder, doing what they want to do, but I’m a Midwest girl. I like being a small clothing line in Chicago; I like running my website, that’s what I like doing. It’s an opportunity that I owed to myself to try, I did, and it’s OK, not everything is for everybody and I kind of split.

Let’s talk about your line called “OrganiK Revolution.” Tell us a little about it.
OrganiK Revolution is my baby. I decided to create it about a year ago when I got into Travel Fashion Incubator. The Incubator was a city initiative that takes six young local designers to kind of mentor them through their first year of entrepreneurship. I learned a lot and did a couple of collections, I headlined Chicago Fashion Week last year and we're doing a great event this year called Chicago Fashion Rocks. It’s happened so quickly. In a year, we’ve put out a couple of other collections, we’re selling on our website now OrganiK Revolution.com. It’s a rock-and-roll positive look to it. It’s a clothing line for younger girls, eco-friendly, earth-conscious without being just Birkenstocks and hippie stuff.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I love this question because you have these designers that have all these crazy inspirations like Stealth Fighter or whatever [laughs]. My inspiration is pretty consistent, I’m very influenced by rock-and-roll, my husband is in a band, and I have this romantic fairy-tale thing that I love to play on. It kind of bounces back and forth with those. Some inspiration from the '20s; sometimes cowgirls, all kinds of different stuff, but mostly rock-and-roll and fairy-tale.

How do you approach your designs?
I make stuff that I want to wear, that my girlfriend Ginger Snap wants to wear [laughs]. I design for girls my age, with my mentality and my aesthetic. That’s what I do.

Well, thank you so much, girl.
Well, thank you guys so much, I really appreciate it and I love your blog. I want to say a BIG thank you to all of your readers... they've been super supportive and that means the world!

Also, if anyone wants MORE Kristin, check out thenotsodesperatehousewife.com!

OrganiK Revolution designs: