mskadie

Hi! Thanks for stopping by :)

My name is Kadie and I'm not so great at filling out profiles, but here goes..

I'm in my late 20's, living in Vancouver, Canada. I'm pretty west coast by nature. I like to hike and swim and hula hoop and just generally be outside.

I'm a Registered Massage Therapist and I love my job. I'm also trained as a cold laser therapist and sometimes get to play with lasers at the clinic where I work. It's pretty awesome. Because of this, I am obsessed with human anatomy and the musculoskeletal system. If you can somehow incorporate this theme into a swap (admittedly difficult because I don't usually join paper craft swaps), I'll think you're the coolest. Just saying.

I moonlight as a bartender, and my fiance is one too (no, we don't work at the same bar). We dream of one day opening our own establishment. I like alcohol-themed things, especially classic cocktails and European beer. I'd love to hear about your favourite drink :)

I love making crafty things with my hands, and I'll try pretty much anything once. That being said, I'm not at all artistic, i.e. cannot draw/paint/sketch etc. to save my life, but I am creative. I love to create things.

Things like knitting, crochet, knotting, weaving and sewing are some of my favourite things to do. I love obscure or forgotten fibre arts, like macrame, needle tatting, naalbinding (Viking knitting, soooo cool), sprang... Right now I'm big into flat braiding and making awesome shoelaces/lanyards.

I like to experiment with different mediums, and combine them as well :D

I think that yarnbombing is the greatest hobby in the world. If you want more information, please let me know and I'd be happy to send you my minizine on the subject.

I also make postcards out of jigsaw puzzles. I end up with a lot of extra pieces, so if you ever need loose jigsaw pieces for papercrafts, please let me know and I can send some to you.

Reading is awesome and is another one of my favourite things to do. I love books that would be filed under 'Literature' or 'Sci-fi' in a bookstore, but don't be surprised to find me in other aisles as well! However, you will not find me reading 'chick lit' or best-sellers.

Favourite authors (i.e. have voluntarily read at least 2 books by them) include Verne; Vonnegut (!!!); John Wyndham; William Tenn; Huxley; Hesse; Saki; Steinbeck; the Brontes, especially love Charlotte; Margaret Atwood, probably because I'm Canadian; Francesca Lia Block; Anaïs Nin; Dostoyevsky; Tolstoy; Chekov; Gogol (love the 19th century Russians); Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Maugham; Camus; Sartre; Carroll; Tolkien; Asimov; Clarke; Herbert; Peake; Orson Scott Card; Douglas Adams.. hmmm and I guess when I was a teenager I was super into Ayn Rand, though my perspectives have changed considerably.

My favourite novel of all time has got to be Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley. I love him so much and that book in particular is stellar. Other super super favourites are Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, the Mysterious Island by Jules Verne and Demian by Hermann Hesse. I guess those are my top 5 by my top 5 :)

I also have a completely dorky obsession with both Eastern and Western philosophy. I can't seem to stop buying old anthologies in used bookstores. I think that's why I like classic sci-fi so much: it often asks very philosophical questions. My personal philosophy is nicely articulated in the teachings of J Krishnamurti.

I love reading zines. My favourites are the how-to DIY type ones, but I love perzines as well. I love getting to know people through their own publications and mediums.

I think I have the worst taste in music of anyone I know. It can be the absolute most cringe-worthy song you can think of, but if I associate it with good times, amazing people or a really excellent movie, I can't help but smile.

I love folky stuff from the 60's. My favourite album of all time is Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel.

I love proto as well as post punk. I guess I like punk as well, but I'm more a fan of what happened around the edges.

I love anything with a harmonica. It is my favourite instrument! Also, the banjo. You can't not smile when you hear the banjo. Don't laugh.

I love glam rock.

I love hair metal bands from the 80's. I have a major soft spot for people that don't take themselves seriously.

I love 90's alternative stuff, especially when I'm feeling angsty. It is after all what I grew up with and heavily influenced my later tastes.

I love indie pop but I'm definitely not up on the new and cool artists. I like the older stuff, it's very comforting to me.

Drum and bass will always hold a special place in my heart.

I really love anything that you can dance to. Over-the-top dance music is my favourite.

If it's weird, obscure, cult or a musical - or preferrably some combination of the above - I'm all there! I don't watch a lot of movies unless I'm crafting, but I like the things that no one else seems to want to watch. I really like B movies, and nothing makes me happier than a super dorky documentary. I do not like action movies or anything that draws people based on special effects, because when I 'watch' a movie I'm mostly just listening to it. I live through my ears :) dialogue and character development are important to me, and if I like the score I'm pretty likely to like the movie. I really love classic movies from about the 40's to the 60's. Early Technicolor makes my life.

Some of the movies I can watch again and again are Harold and Maude, Donnie Darko, Little Miss Sunshine, Muriel's Wedding, Ghost World, Life Aquatic and RENT.

I like all kinds of things. I certainly don't want to limit anyone to a short list of things to send but here are some themes that I really love:

paisley/heavily patterned things

kitsch

retro/vintage

sparkles/glitter

rainbows

marine animals

trees/plants/vegatables(!!!)

elvis/pink cadillacs/50's

pin-ups

anatomy (particularly human)

steampunk

literary things/anything to do with books

cocktails

really awesome kawaii. I can get into Hello Kitty, but I'm more into the obscure characters

I'm eclectic. Absolutely nothing in our apartment matches, from furniture to spoons and that's the way I like it. Our walls are covered with thrift store jigsaw puzzles I've glued together (they make awesome posters!) and street art. Most of our furniture was scavenged from alleys and has been painted or wrapped in yarn. Our tiny patio is brimming with life, particularly potted plants hanging from macrame hangers that for the most part I've made. I call it sensory overload.

I am not a picky person and am extremely easy to please. I love trying new things and learning about other people and places. If you think that something is awesome, chances are that I will too - or I'll at least appreciate why you think it's awesome and will probably end up agreeing with you. I'm all about the random stuff that others have discovered, the more obscure the better! I am a firm believer in sender's choice.

However, I follow a vegan lifestyle, so anything containing animal products will surely find another home - just not mine :) though I am ok with honey and wool (don't tell the vegan police! lol). Any questions, just ask! :D

I can't think of a colour I dislike. I think every colour can be beautiful depending on what it is used for and the colours that accompany it. My favourite colour is ALL OF THE COLOURS :D rainbows are my favourite!

I think that's about it..

Have no fear.... send me ANYTHING. Used, recycled, upcycled, dumpstered, regifted, repurposed, found objects, retro/vintage/thrifted.. In fact, I'd prefer those types of things. I'm really not picky and I'm not just saying that. It does not have to be in perfect condition. I find something interesting about pretty much everything and I really am quite resourceful.

Once upon a time I was rated a 1. I tried for a long time to fix it, but the user is no longer active and I gave up years ago. If you want the full story, I will happily share it with you.

When possible, I try to reuse or get creative with packaging. I'd love it if you did the same when sending to me! But if something arrives broken or damaged or - gasp! - not at all, please let me know and I will try to remedy the problem in whatever way I can :)

If you are sending to me and things happen and you are worried about being late, please don't worry. It's not worth it. Life comes before swap-bot! Just let me know what's up :) I do not want to be the cause of your stress or unhappiness and I will not rate you down because of situations outside of your control. Obviously.