Welcome to the Brand New Kindred Lifestyle. Formerly, Karin U Living. I’m thrilled to finally reveal the passion project that myself and my team have been working on over the past 6 months. Before we go any further though, I wanted to give you a bit of the back story in case you’re new here!
Blog Beginnings
In 2017, I found myself a new mama again after a 12 year hiatus from the newborn life. Our Big kids were now 12, 15, and 20 and we had spent the last decade working hard raising our kiddos (dance recitals, skating competitions, hockey, birthday parties, vacations & more). It hit me one day that we would be empty nesters in our early 40’s and although that sounded appealing to some people, for us we weren’t ready to enter the quiet years just yet.
Enter, Miss Mila. In January of 2017 we welcomed the 4th and final member to the U crew and I found myself in a new, slower paced season of life. I was still selling Real Estate but my career was established and I had settled into a comfortable pace. I found myself spending a lot more time at home with baby Mila.
It was early fall of 2017 that I felt an urge to start a Blog. I wasn’t really sure what I would blog about but figured that we had a bit of a unique story having started our Family as teenage parents. I also loved home decor, entertaining, and making pretty Tablescapes.
My Blog quickly became an amazing outlet for me. It allowed me to be creative, make connections, and even generate some income as I started working with brands. Starting my blog, I didn’t even know about the business side of blogging, but it was inevitable that I would dabble in the business side having a very entrepreneurial spirit. I simply couldn’t help myself.
Moving Forward
Fast forward to Fall of 2021. A lot had changed since my blog startup in 2017. We had purchased a coffee shop, I had worked with over 100 brands, and we had recently expanded our coffee shop bringing in a curated retail section which had turned out to be another great creative outlet for me. I had no idea how much I’d love curating a collection of retail items. The retail section was well received by our community and gaining traction!
I started to feel a shift. There were areas of growth that I had been dreaming of but in order to step into new territory, there would need to be a refreshing of the multiple ventures I had my hands in. I had become very used to wearing multiple hats, and I loved all of them. They just needed to compliment each other instead of feeling like separate entities.
Karin U Living was no longer sustainable in terms of change and growth. Melissa had joined my team and with the ideas and dreams growing in my heart, I felt that we needed to create a brand that would sustain growth and longevity.
Change
I felt a strong need to bring cohesiveness to the various businesses I had worked hard to grow. My Real Estate Career, This Blog, and now Retail. They all carried a piece of my heart and I wanted them to feel like one cohesive package or for lack of better words – Brand.
Around the same time that I felt this shift happening, I started thinking about bringing our retail section into the online world. Having lived through a pandemic, online shopping had reached an all time high. It was a market full of opportunity and welp! I’ve always loved an opportunity!
To make a long story short, in the Fall of 2021, Kindred Lifestyle became a reality. Kindred Lifestyle forming an umbrella over Real Estate (Kindred Homes), Retail (Shoppe Kindred) and Creative (This Blog). The new brand provides room for growth and expansion moving away from a brand run by one person but one that offers a collective team approach.
Behind the Name
Choosing a Brand name was a really important piece of the puzzle; in fact, probably the most important one. It needed to support the vision, allow growth and carry a lot of heart. It needed to be the launch pad for vision and an overall first impression.
How do you choose a name? You head to Google of course:) For a few weeks I googled words, names and meanings trying to find “the one”. Keywords like “Gather”, “Family”, “Warmth”, “Community”, “Home”, “Rooted” carried the essence of the heart behind the brand.
Then, I stumbled on KINDRED and I got “the feeling” I was waiting for. Kindred rounded out all the keywords and wrapped them up to perfection! The word KINDRED essentially means “Family”. My all time favourite movie, “Anne of Green Gables” talked a lot about “Kindred Spirits” a phrase that had resonated with me over the years.
It was perfect! And from there Kindred Lifestyle was born!
When Women Support each other, Incredible things happen
Starting a new brand with a new name meant fresh branding, new website, and for the new online retail shoppe, we needed an e-commerce site. One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to do this right the first time and it was going to mean a leap of faith and a financial investment. In the past I had “pieced together” my business branding and websites and this time I knew it was time to call in a professional.
The Dream Team
I have followed Lani from Featherlite Designs on Instagram for years and knew she was going to be the perfect fit for this brand overhaul. Little did I know that Lani would not only meet my expectations but exceed them! Every step of the process with Lani felt professional but also really fun! She was on time, clear with her process and basically took my heart for this brand and created a visual masterpiece.
Here is a little sampling of the main logo that Lani created and off course this beautiful blog site you are currently on was designed by Lani along with the site for Shoppe Kindred. I truly can’t say enough good things about Lani at Featherlite Designs!
Onward and Upward
Thank you for being here whether you are a long time Blog Subscriber or just landed here for the first time. We hope you will find little bits of inspiration and a feeling of warmth and connection and you scroll both this Blog site or head over to the Shoppe. We have so much to share and this is just the beginning!
Chat soon,
Leave A Comment