Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristy Ziolkowski.
Hi Kristy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From the time I was a little girl, I was instinctively and constantly compelled to create safe, nurturing spaces. Atmospheres that enchant, disarm, and invite us into refuge, beauty, and delight. I attended UW-Stout and paired my conviction to support people in relational, emotional, and spiritual health with my love for art and design. I received my Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies, with a minor in Interior Design.
Throughout my life, I’ve been drawn to the margins, the vulnerable, the heartbroken, specifically in under-resourced communities. Decades ago, while on a life changing trip to struggling neighborhoods in LA, in a very transitional time in my life, I was asking the question: “What is my life supposed to be about?” In response, God brought me to the Bible passage Isaiah 61. It all made so much sense – the compulsion I felt to renew and transform the old and broken into newness and beauty – was a deep, God-given hunger to see and share the visible display of redemption. To live in and invite others into hope, that in our mistakes, in our heartbreaks, in our ruins and our messes, redemption is possible.
My heart, in all that I do, is captivated and motivated to live in and share the joy, the beauty, the peace, the bliss, of being one who has been redeemed. It is my great honor to carry this hope into every context and space that I’m invited into, to converse, to plan, to design, to create… on behalf of my clients, spaces and places, in this world, that invite all people to step into tangible experiences and expressions of grace. Where we can all breathe deeply of the kindness and beauty of our Creator, living in the flourishing that we were created for.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My business started when my kiddos were little. I was a stay-at-home mom, which was the joy of my life, but financially, things were really tight. We moved to Milwaukee, WI, to engage in ministry and social justice. It was a hurting city that we loved. Milwaukee is gritty and pretty and rich with culture. We settled into our bungalow in our beautifully diverse urban neighborhood. Hospitality was a high priority for us.
Having a background in interior design, but no semblance of a design budget, I pulled from the resourcefulness I was taught as a child and got super scrappy. I “curated” discarded furniture off the side of the road, from Goodwill, and pieces that friends and family no longer wanted. I refinished and recreated items to furnish our entire house. When I was done with our house, I couldn’t stop the flood of creativity. So I started selling my recreations online.
Customers kept coming back, inviting me to take on larger and larger projects until, once my kiddos were all in school full-time, clients gave me opportunities to design, implement, and project manage entire home renovations. I loved my clients, and many became friends. It was an incredible honor to be trusted with their safe personal spaces, their families, and their resources. I did not take that trust lightly. As rapport increased, clients started referring me to their friends and family.
My business was growing far beyond what I ever intended. When the pandemic of 2020 came, I resigned myself to accept that my business would most likely come to a screeching halt. But to my surprise, it got busier… There was excitement and challenge that came with that growth. Assessing and reassessing priorities, family, ministry, volunteering, work.. etc. Balance did not exist, all my waking hours were productive for far too long… and then in 2021, amid all kinds of discombobulating difficulty, our son had a medical condition that was quickly worsening, despite the great measures the doctors were taking, the medical problems compounded, and our son’s medical care was transferred across the state.
In whiplash fashion, we resigned from our work, our ministry, sold our home, packed two trucks, through many, many, many tears, hugged our dear friends goodbye, and drove west, starting over in so many aspects of our lives, including my business. Starting my business over, has definitely changed things, but God has been so faithful, providing all that we need, day after day, with a steady mix of creative opportunities, to renovate our own home, pro bono design work in areas of need in the city, supporting and training young people in the community to hone and use their creative gifts and skills, to bring beauty into the world and move towards greater thriving in their own lives, and to work with new clients in a new city, as I follow Gods lead in rebuilding this business, in whatever ways He knows is best.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love discussing clients’ goals, learning their personalities and then understanding and planning what will most resonate with them. And that, not just with their functional needs and aesthetic desires, but discerning the deeper things that they are hoping for, how they want and need to feel in the spaces we create; inspired, comforted, nestled in, delighted, enchanted, safe, thoughtful, peaceful…
I love it when, in the planning process, there is a palpable sense of relief that my clients express, knowing they are understood, and that their homes, workplaces, resources, and families are being tended to with attentiveness and care. I also really, really love it when there are many aspects of projects that allow me to personally create and implement custom pieces, furniture, art, murals, fabrics, etc. It is incredibly rewarding to create spaces with my actual hands! I really enjoy doing my own carpentry, sewing, painting, muralizing, etc., whenever it’s what’s best for the clients and project I’m working on!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I would reference the forced risk of needing to start my business over in a new city. Additionally, when we did need to transition, we bought a home that needed some major renovations. I was the GC on that project. I did all the project management and all the actual manual labor, other than electrical and plumbing. I framed walls, drywalled, tiled, built cabinets, did all the finished carpentry, laid flooring, etc., It was a lot of work but so incredibly worth it!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://isaiah61design.com
