Style Icon : Meanz of Koi Story

I love and respect everything about Meanz and her blog, Koi Story. Not only is she creative, beautiful, and full of great ideas, she is sweet and totally on top of things. She is the perfect combination of friendliness and business that I love working with. She is the princess of print mixing, in my opinion, and always has the best accessories. Honestly, her blog and creative mixing have more than inspired me. I reached out to her and asked her a few questions. I am so excited to feature her - so read on!

You are such an innovative and creative personality! How do you find and use your inspiration?
Thank you Katherine. I find my inspiration everywhere. Literally, from nature, the weather, through pinterest, the people around me, and etc. I like to make lists, take notes, sketch and take photographs of my inspiration. I have so many notes filled with ideas when I’m inspired. It’s a little nuts.

Speaking of creativity, even the title of your blog has such a great tale behind it! What have you learned since beginning Koi Story?
I have learned so much. First, that there are some absolutely wonderful people in the blogging world. People that are willing to help you, guide you and befriend you. At the same time, there are a lot of people that just want the fame, and that’s a little bit annoying. I’ve learned that you have to love blogging to be a blogger and you can’t expect things to be handed to you, you have to work for it. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and I feel like I can stop blogging for a few days and still feel ok about it. I don’t feel as pressured, and I don’t think anyone should ever feel pressured.

I have long considered you the princess of print-mixing! What do you consider when mixing and matching outfits?

That is so sweet of you! I like to consider the prints themselves. Are they too similar? Do they contrast well? What are the colors like? Do the prints clash? It’s honestly all about experimentation! I’m sure I’ve had many misses!

And accessories! You have the best accessories around - how do you find such amazing pieces? What are some of your favorite shops (online or in person) to find things at?
It’s strange. I had always been terrified of accessories. I remember one day I decided to just go for it. Large rings were trendy at the time and I drove out to Forever 21 and picked out just a bunch that I liked. Then, it started. Slowly I started getting into necklaces, and now one of my favorite accessories are bracelets. Also, I work at the Des Moines Art Center gift shop and we have a lot of unique jewelry that I just fell in love with. I’m all about statement pieces as well as basics that can go with everything. I’m also a big fan of light jewelry because then if you ever want to layer, you have the option without feeling to weight down. I’m pretty picky about my jewelry too though! Some of y favorite places to get jewelry are the art center gift shop I work at of course, thrift stores/garage sales, Forever 21 (they have a lot to choose from and it’s fairly inexpensive), and Francesca’s Collections (they always have a great selection of statement jewelry).

On your Instagram, you have adorable photos of your cats? What's their story?
I have one cat, Arnold Chan. I also like to take photos of my friends’ cats, and any other cat I come across. I’ve become a full fledged cat lady! As for Arnold’s story, well my boyfriend took me to the Animal Rescue League on my birthday so that I could pick out a kitten as my present! We adopted him and took him home that night, and I’ve loved him ever since. He’s such a sweet, lazy, goofy cat. I think everyone that has come across him so far, even when they “don’t like cats” falls for him! It’s just hard not to!

  
Follow Meanz on Instagram - @meanzchan

As a graphic designer, what is your ultimate must-have tool that you couldn't deal without?

Oh man, probably Adobe InDesign or Illustrator. Actually, maybe the whole creative suite and my macbook pro/ iMac. It’s hard to decide! I feel like I need and use all of those things so frequently.

You also have an Etsy! Where did you learn or what pushed you to learn to create clothing as well?
Yes, I do! What pushed me to learn how to create clothing was my mom. She was a tailor for a really long time, and she used to make all of my clothes as a child. I loved it! She is so creative and inspiring to me. She’s the one that taught me the basics, and I can’t wait to learn more from her!

Any dreams you are currently following, living, or wanting to go after?
I definitely would like to be able to work from home as a freelance graphic designer and also own my own online/brick and mortar boutique someday! We will see what happens.