Kristin Konefal

From: North Carolina

Living in: Miami

Star Sign: Virgo

Three words to describe yourself: optimistic, introspective, kindhearted

Q: Living in Miami post-grad vs. living there in college—how has your relationship with the city changed?

A: Living here post-grad has been a completely different experience for me. I’m in a different area of the city, for one, so it feels like a new environment in that way. It’s been fun establishing all my routine spots I love, plus I’m ten minutes from the beach now so I take advantage of that as much as I can. I think the biggest difference is that in college I went out way more, because, you know, college. Now, I never really go out here unless it’s to see a musician I like. Which is funny because Miami has this reputation of being this huge party city, but my lifestyle here is completely wellness based. I feel like since I did all of that in college, I don’t really have any interest. I save that energy for other places with new experiences—I travel a ton, so when I’m in Miami, I just want to relax, reset, paint, go to yoga, the beach, make dinner, etc. It’s the perfect home base while I’m still on the east coast. 

Q: What makes somewhere feel like home to you?

A: I think the main thing that makes somewhere feel like home is the ocean. Being able to look out my window every morning to the ocean brings me an unparalleled kind of peace. I also have the most amazing people in my life who feel like home to me, but as we’ve gotten older everyone has naturally started dispersing. The silver lining to that is that I feel like I have little pieces of home all over the country. And of course, my cat, Calypso (Caly). I brought her to live in New York with me this summer and it absolutely would not have felt like home without her. 

Q: What’s something people would probably be surprised to learn about you?

A: I wasn’t quite sure what to say for this so I asked one of my best friends and they said “that you’re literally the funniest person I know” so…..do with that what you will……

Q: As your life has become more public, how have you decided what you want to share online and what you’d rather keep private?

A: I feel like nowadays it’s become so easy to get sucked into our phones and social media that we can forget to separate those things from real life. My main priority is always living in the moment and being present, so that kind of dictates what I do or don’t post. Especially as my online presence has become intertwined with my job, I like to almost treat it that way—like I’m showing up for work. I love to share my artwork and other interests like music, fashion, books, cooking, etc. I love capturing moments both big and small and sharing the world through my creative lens. But when it comes to anything personal, I like to keep all of that offline. I really value having parts of my life that are just mine, especially as privacy feels increasingly rare these days.

Q: What artists or pieces of media are currently inspiring you?

A: I just read Slow Days, Fast Living by Eve Babitz and Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. Both of these were books where I kept finding myself stopping to think “wow, you can seriously do SO much with words.” I’m also constantly getting inspired by different artists—I highlight a new one every week on my substack @kristincreating :)

Q: At our shoot, we talked about your love of live music and going to shows. What’s the most memorable set you’ve seen recently?

A: A set I saw this summer that really stuck out was Dixon b2b Jimi Jules at the Innervisions NYC show, which was amazing in its entirety. Shows that take you on a journey and make music feel like a layered, multidimensional experience are so magical, and this was one of them. It was a reminder that these guys who have been doing this for decades are really just transcending the game and doing things on a whole different level. 

Q: Is there a creative medium you’d love to explore more?

A: I started writing on substack this year, and would love to continue developing my voice there. I’m an avid reader and used to absolutely love writing in high school, but stopped for a long time after that. Reincorporating it into my life has felt amazing, even if I’ve been a bit rusty at first. It really is a muscle and I want to continue to strengthen it. A lot of my substack is about making connections across different creative mediums, from art to music to literature to films. I think engaging with different mediums is so important for feeding your own creativity, as it always opens up new ways of seeing and sparks new ideas. I also just got a guitar and want to eventually learn how to dj, though both of these would be entirely for personal enjoyment lol!

Q: How do you incorporate collaboration into your creative practice while working independently?

A: When I first started my art business, I was basically solely doing commissioned work. As the years have gone on, I’ve been able to shift my focus to creating original work and only accepting commissioned projects when it’s an opportunity that feels aligned with my creative direction. I’ve been so honored to receive some amazing opportunities to collaborate with brands that I’ve loved my whole life. I’ve also worked with some DJs/producers, which was so incredible and made me want to seek out more collaborations in the music space. These were all definitely highlights of my career thus far. While my main focus is still building out my personal portfolio, I love doing those kinds of projects and am excited for the possibilities of more meaningful collaborations in the future. 

Q: If you’re ready to share, is there something specific you’re working toward right now?

A: I’m currently working on my next collection, portals, which I’ll be exhibiting during Art Basel on December 4th!

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a creative career?

A: Don’t shy away from putting yourself and your work out there. Be relentless in the pursuit of your dreams, don’t let anyone tell you they aren’t realistic. And create as much as you can!

Q: As we transition into fall, what’s one thing from summer you’re not quite ready to let go of—and what are you ready to leave behind?

A: I’m not ready to leave behind tanning and swimming in the ocean…so very grateful I live somewhere where I don’t have to ;)

I am however ready to leave behind the sort of lull summer days can tend to have. This summer has felt insanely long, and even though I’m always marveling over time going too fast, I’m actually ready for a shift in gears. Fall has this motivating, foundational energy to it. It makes me want to leave the stagnant summer air behind and create, really put my head down and grind to make some great work and finish the year out strong!