about

a specimen card, approximately

SPECIMEN CARD№ 001
[photo]
name Kristin Hanlin
habitat Oxford, CT
diet thread · floss · paper
makes embroidery · collage · cloth
status open for commissions

the work

I make things with my hands: embroidery (especially on my embroidery machine), cross-stitch, collage, sewing. some of it finds its way to my Etsy shop (kahristinmakesstuff); most of it lives in the studio or gets gifted to people i care about.

Before i became a full-time maker, i spent six years designing learning experiences—first as a high school English teacher, then in SaaS at Candid. that background shapes how i think about craft: intentional, accessible, made to teach or delight or both. i believe in the whimsy of handmade things, especially in a world that often feels mass-produced and rushed.

kahristinmakesstuff /kuh-KRIS-tin MAYKS stuff/ n. a small arts and crafts business rooted in anti-corporate values, weird humor, and the conviction that making things by hand still matters.

a rough timeline

nowembroidery machine era. designing the brand. questioning everything.
'25laid off from candid. bought an embroidery machine the next day. it saved me.
'18left teaching. moved into saas instructional design. learned that learning design and craft design aren't that different.
'16started teaching high school english. fell in love with helping people understand things.
priora childhood of making things. collage, drawing, building. making was always the thing that made sense.

beyond the studio

i play D&D (currently a level 2 artificer named wren), spend far too much time in stardew valley, and have strong opinions about cottage-core aesthetics. i read a lot of nonfiction history and design books. my other obsession is collecting visual reference books (DK history series, anyone?).

— K