About

Hello! I am Kristina, a crochet and knitwear designer with a passion for creating designs that inspire others to try something new. I am a Social Studies teacher by trade and an artist at heart. My love of math, science and history shows through in all of my creations. I share a bit of myself in each design with every calculation, pattern name, and inspiration story. 

My designs are meant to encourage others by providing the crocheter/knitter with an avenue to choose their own adventure by infusing their imagination and creativity to make their finished pieces reflect their own tastes and desires. My mission is to provide others with the tools they need (regardless of mathematical ability) to be able to create their own wearable wardrobe with designs that reflect their inner style.

Creative Endeavors began in 2003 as a way for me to express my artistic creativity. Inspiration for my business struck quickly as I was driving past a store front in the downtown area of my hometown. I saw a for rent sign, and within three weeks, I had a business retail license and a place to showcase my own talents as well as the talents of many artists in the area. My vision for this business was to create a place where imagination would take center stage. The items I chose to sell were designed to create aesthetic spaces in the home of the buyer. Each piece reflected the creative part of me and my passion for creativity. 

When choosing a name for my business, I immediately thought of the term ‘endeavors’ to represent all my passions and hobbies. Each endeavor allows me to express my creativity with enthusiasm and an abundance of energy. I enjoy every creative endeavor that I try and wanted to reflect that enjoyment in my business, so I added the word ‘creative’ to the name. 

After adopting the first two of our three children, I decided to close the physical location of my business to stay home where I could focus on inspiring artistic creativity with my own children who needed my full attention. As they grew older, I included them in all of my creative endeavors. They inspired me to turn to the internet as a way to keep my dream of sharing my artistic abilities with others. In 2011, I opened my first Etsy shop and had the awesome opportunity to sell my first crochet item within the first month. Since then, I have shipped my items to several countries throughout the world, crocheted mittens for the tv show Believe, knit a hat for the movie Heaven Knows What, made several mittens for Oreo Cookie Company to give as gifts for a launch of a new line, had my convertible fingerless mittens featured on a popular travel blog, and have had my own designs published in Love of Knitting magazine and Knotions online e-zine. For the last three years, I have had the opportunity to create knit and crochet designs for Expression Fiber Arts, Brown Sheep Company, and The Yarn Stories local yarn shop in Muncie, Indiana. These experiences have given me confidence and have inspired me to share my talents with others.

Living in a rural area of the Midwestern United States allows me to find inspiration for my designs in everything around me. I love nature and often include different aspects of it in my crochet and knitwear designs. Each design is created in a way that allows the crocheter or knitter to express their own creativity and inspires them to access their inner artist. I love to explore different techniques and often include them into my patterns. 

My designs can be found on my website/blog www.CreativeEndeavorsKS.com, in my Etsy shop www.CreativeEndeavorsKS.etsy.com, in my Ravelry store www.ravelry.com/stores/kristina-smiley-designs, and on LoveKnitting.