How KaratStix Came To Be, Part 2

So buttons were born and I thought I was onto something here -- I was even able to obtain more coconut shells from a local restaurant that would have ended up in landfill. The process of making them was fun, but labor intensive -- and each one was unique, although I was able to make coordinating sets, no two would be identical, but I loved that about the coconuts. I made the holes big enough for yarn needles as I envisioned these being attached to felted handbags (I have a couple of those in my own collection of bags), and as focal buttons on sweaters, and I even made a few rings with copper sticks as shawl pins. Oh, I had lots of ideas in the early days. I have read that when people convert to eating living raw vegan foods, that their creativity reaches new heights, and I can testify that this definitely happened to me!

So I was sitting on the patio making buttons and had ideas for other tools too, and I also had a very supportive brother who is very skilled and crafty in his own way with wood. I wanted to use bamboo though and had an idea to try and make a needle gauge of some kind. So I made a pencil drawing and gave it to my brother and he worked on making a prototype for me. I was so anxious to see the end result but it took a few months before I saw it, or so it seemed. In the meantime I kept making buttons and thought about what to call my business.

Well, things were seeming a bit tropical, coconuts and bamboo would be the main materials -- natural, healthy for the planet, and strong. I love palmtrees, so coconut palm trees would be part of the logo. I wanted my business name to reflect the idea that I was turning trash (coconut shells) into treasure (buttons) and bamboo (stix) into gold (karat). My first name is Karen and my maiden name is Stixrud and the name then slipped into place -- KaratStix -- which felt like my own name even though different. And sounds like 'carrot sticks' which seemed so healthy too :). So now you know how the KaratStix name came to be and how it relates to coconuts and my raw food vegan lifestyle.