QUEENS CREATRIX: KG, Local NYER

KRISTIN G. 📍Astoria, Queens New York

@kristingates / @cacaocreatrix

SISTAR. ARTIST. CREATOR. TALKER & Her Embodied Truth

Interview by Valerie Jana, Visionary of Locals World / @thelocalnewyorker

What lights you up?

Painting, biking along the Hudson River, mandatory daily dance parties, long walks and naps with my dog, KINRGY & SHARE CACAO ceremonies with my SISTARS.

What is your current career? What do you say your “title,” is or what do you do most day-to-day? And/ or creative projects you're pursuing...

I’m a freelance Photo Producer but I recently decided to step away from photography and lean into painting with watercolors and other creative experimentations. 
My real titles are Dog Mom, Sister, Best Friend and Creative.

ROUTINES & RITUALS: What are the ways your daily routines & rituals, mindfulness practice, how you stay connected to yourself?

Each day I start with an Almond Milk Matcha Latte and a long walk with my dog around the neighborhood. My daily goal is to “show up for myself.” So however I’m called to show up that day is what I will do - it can be dance, painting, journaling, baths, meditation, solo cacao ceremonies (or in circle.) Most days consist of a few if not all of them.

CONNECTION: How do you stay connected to others?

ZOOM. any virtual class, workout or cacao ceremony I can get my hands on, I attend. I’m also fortunate that every Saturday morning I’m able to sit in a cacao ceremony with @sharecacao & my lovely SISTARS. Through this community, I have been watching my life evolve and change in the most positive way.

Creating a sisterhood of women that I’ve never met but feel so deeply for, has been an awakening experience for me. No matter the distance, if your heart is open and wide, all the love that’s meant for you, will find you.

As the spring comes, I’m looking forward to in-person cacao ceremonies, outdoor yoga and meditation classes and hopefully a few fun nights out to eat.

What are your biggest "struggles" as a Local New Yorker at this time?

During the height of the pandemic when New York was the most affected, I had felt lost all of my motivation and purpose in life. My daily commute, my favorite co-workers, the weekly happy hours and weekend trips all came to a halt.

On-top of that I’m a Type 1 Diabetic so I was told by doctors and family members how detrimental it would be if I got sick, which led me into a very fear-based mindset.

I never left the house and refused to see friends and family for months. Now a year later, even though I'm vaccinated, the anxiety is still there but I know there’s hope

LOCALS GUIDE📍 Astoria Queens, New York

Go-to Food/ Drink/ Coffee:

Mighty Oak: a neighborhood staple around the corner from my apartment, it’s the first wood roasted coffee in Queens. During COVID, one of the baristas started Astoria Food Pantry, another reason to go and support!

The Bonnie: Amazing cocktails, incredible food, fun staff and live music - they have an outdoor backyard and sidewalk seating!  

The Ditty: low key neighborhood bar where the bartender knows your name and drink! Before the pandemic there were movie night Tuesdays and on Friday/ Saturdays they had a local DJ come in (all low key, not a club scene)

SingleCut Brewery: hidden in the back of Astoria near the water - not many people know it’s there, except the locals!  

Go-to Hidden Gem:

Earth and Me: Women owned & Queens first zero-waste store!! They have natural soaps, creams, oils, stationary, etc. They also sell products from local artists and herbalists.
Check-out https://www.earthandme.co/ 

Go-to Retail for Local Style:

Anoria Boutique: Local, Sustainable, Eco-Friendly, Native American creatrix (artist), YES PLEASE! MORE PLEASE!🌞

ANORIA boutique highlights the traditions and stories of Artisan Textiles. Vanessa’s Abuela makes and sends clothing, masks, toys, etc. from Mexico. As well as other clothing/accessories which she sources from a collective of Indigenous creators from South America.

Thank you Vanessa, for sharing your story and beautiful boutique with me.👑

I am so happy to have you here in the neighborhood - @anoriaboutique on 24th Ave in @astoriaqueensnyc
#sustainablefashion #localbusiness

NewtownHQ: Women-owned, new and used items
Loveday31: has amazing vintage pieces!
Buffalo Exchange is a classic to buy & sell used clothes -

*** Editors cut: Buffalo Exchange did not accept Women's work pants from Queens Local New Yorker Kristin, even though they were in good condition/ tags and all.

Inside Astoria: Gift shop sells goods made by local artists - Belief: Skate shop, arts, accessories. - Lavender Label: natural soaps, lotions, childrens clothing and accessories

Go-to supporting local business:

The Brass Owl: women owned boutique
Lockwood Shop: women owned gift shop
Macoletta Brick Pizza: Black-owned
Snowdonia: Black-owned Gastropub

Favorite Local Artists/ Emerging Designers (low-key)/ Upcoming Products & Services

@astoriaknots handmade macramé and fiber art - Earth&Me has events like upcycling pop-ups (ex: tie-dye events to bring your old clothes) - Astoria Park Alliance: local park cleanup to maintain conservation and sustainability of Astoria Park

The Locals World COMEUNITY Method.

C Ã M P C Â C Ä O 2021

DESTINATION: SOUTH FLORIDA

Sacred

Intention-based

Sustainable Spaces

Travel Truths

4uthentic

Realities Relationships

Sistarships.

Dear Locals,

 We'll tell you a secret. We met Kristin for the first time in-person after the fact she activated her wingspan and flew down to Fort Lauderdale, trusting it all. Trusting the vision. Trusting us, V+V co-facilitators of Share Cacao. We've been sitting in ceremony virtually with Kristin since September 2020. Our Saturday virtual weekly SISTAR CIRCLES started only January 2021. By April, V+V was living day-to-day in Florida for 2-months post- Fly KAKAO's Heart Spark event February 27th, trusting they were exactly where they were supposed to be.

We ventured from Selina Hotel Miami (do not authentically recommend for sacred intention-based spaces or sustainability), to The Standard (check-in on my 25th Birthday, stayed for the week in a camp ground vibe suite) & 10/10 recommend for outdoor fire pit, personal solo-cacao ceremonies, pool side dining and jumping into the salty bay @ your own risk. Still "contemplating," on the $3K check-out on my Travel Rewards CC, and how it's possible they didn't have the budget for a Exec. Staff run Plerkshop Cacao Ceremony, to deepen the connection of spirits and weave the golden thread of hearts of how to create absolute magic within a beautiful space, driving the human spirits of the entity, The Standard on Belle Isle. Don't worry, we'll be back ;)

To meeting CARAVANA, offering them a share cacao ceremony to discover what magic we could co-create together. Turns out, cacao was not feeling the vibes she was receiving, and nothing came of this experience beyond simply, doing it anyways, Share Cacao. We did our part by dropping into a smudge + sip event at the 1 Hotel, done by KANEKSHUN and a New Moon Ceremony at the end of our trip. In the end, Locals World discovered all the deep information needed to continue on her journey on this planet. PS CARAVANA, I will still allow myself to purchase a Higher Self dress in the future... when the time is right.

That what's for Her, won't pass her. She's seeking to create something that doesn't necessarily exist in these places, she's paving a new path. Sacred, Intention-based, Spaces, Truth & Authentic Relationships. We are not here to dim to fit in, or see what everyone else is doing. We are not here on this planet to sit in a room of "influencers," practicing consciousness, to snap photos in a sacred space afterwards. We are not here for the followers, the events that serve sacred ceremonies and practices as a "drive-through," for others to grab their cup of cacao, not understanding the reverence, because they just aren't "there yet." Cacao is a plant medicine, we are humbly sharing and serving, giving deep reverence to the ancestors and gaurdians of our own, the Earth, and most importantly the farmers of the jungles in Peru. We sip and serve FLY KAKAO, a non-profit, and when we do Share Cacao, we use it as a currency, as in connection leads to currency, and share it to tear down any preconceived or expectations, the walls humans put up from one another. We seek the back door. We seek the connection anyway. We challenge the structure. Our zone of genius? Guiding the deepening of self-discovery with our Local New Yorker SISTARS. We gather woman in SACRED SAFE INTENTION BASED BEAUTIFUL SPACES, to challenge and embody our truths, our WILD, "WILD WOMAN, COME HOME, RECLAIM YOUR THRONE," & so it is. 

Which leads our story back to Kristin. A Local New Yorker SISTAR ready for her embodied truth. The moment we met Kristin, and picked her up at the Fort Lauderdale airport, we knew she was exactly what we needed to get Share Cacao SISTARS off the ground to be a part of this world. To start somewhere together. That we couldn't do this without her. That this SISTARGATE (her last name is Gates, and V+V are Sisters), was happening because of her. That she supported every single offering, vision, mission, dream of ours during 2020, and we were here to support every single one of hers.

By the end of the trip, we had V+V launched Camp Cacao 2021 and Kristin birthed Cacao Creatrix, an entity that challenges the sacral creative fire within us all.

SISTAR KRISTIN GATES became the first of many. Share Cacao SISTAR, CAMP CACAO Attendee, Locals World - The Local New Yorker 2021, and first customer EVER of Locals Closet, an in-person launch during our first ever Local New Yorker SISTAR CIRCLE Ceremony @ O2 Living in Westchester, NY. The first SISTAR CIRCLE where we all sat in the same room together, in this lifetime, in ceremony, after gathering virtually as a ritual in the launch of our SISTAR CIRCLES.

& this is Kristin's story for when she filled-in the blanks on her plane ride south, the mission, the roots, her belongingness to her higher self... and from there the journey began.

Q) Where do you want to "give-back" most to your local neighborhood/ neighbors/ businesses/ city. Big to Small. Sustainable future to getting homeless off the streets, anything else we're missing and can add our focus to?......

"One day I would love to bring cacao to Astoria so locals can come together, connect and vibe..."

Q) Where are you looking to travel in the future?

New Mexico, Arizona, Spain, Colombia

Q) How many dollars would you throw to have a cool local authentic experience/ itinerary planned out for you based on your personality?

probably around $50-$75

Q) Would you pay one-time per trip, or pay to be a part of this community, continue representing NY as a Local New Yorker, as we partner with LOCAL SHOPS, NY STYLISTS, MAGAZINES, HOTELS, ETC. with monthly tier memberships? With rewards/ benefits to be figured out as we go along to expand the horizons of the community even more?

I LIKE THE IDEA OF.... ONE TIME DURING BOOKING OF TRIP

Q) HELL YA ALL-YEAR ROUND COMMUNITY! MONTHLY PRICING/ TIERS

BOTH

Q) What are some benefits you'd like to see in being a part of LOCALS WORLD COMMUNITY: 2021 New York City?

Monthly virtual/in-person conscious Local Circles to come together!!!! 100000% YAS YAS YAS YAS I LOVED ANSWERING THESEEEEEE

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Because of the past five months, & the completion of this article, scratching the surface of every in between moment, every ceremony, every download, every conversation in the 2D screen to the 5D meditations, the 4D heart space into our 3D reality, a road trip from New York and back with my SISTARS, I can now say, during my time on Earth, I would know, my dreams already came true.

xx V