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Collector's Corner: Kristy Wood
Before the ‘questions’, let's tell everyone who you are, where you're from and what's it's like 'a day in the life':
Hello! My name is Kristy aka witchywoman.11! When I’m not collecting and rearranging spooky Halloween decor around my house, I’m hanging out with my husband & our 5 amazing kiddos. I live about 45 minutes outside of Chicago, I LOVE coffee & coffee mugs, & I live for all things Halloween! In my spare time, you can find me haunting my local vintage store or HomeGoods looking for new goodies. 👻
I’ve been following you on Instagram for a while @witchywoman.11 and I take it you like Halloween. Would you agree that Halloween is your favorite holiday? Or at least your favorite holiday to decorate?
YES! Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday. I like it so much, that I celebrate it everyday! I love decorating for Halloween, and that is definitely reflected in a lot of my everyday home decor. Decorating outside for Halloween with my family is something that I really look forward to every year!
Can you share a story or two with us about how Halloween became your favorite? Maybe your costumes when you were little?
I think that my love of Halloween probably started when I was about 5 or 6. Growing up in the 80s, I remember wanting one of those plastic costumes with the plastic masks. It didn’t matter if it was a super hero or Tweety Bird, they all just looked so creepy haha! I’ve always loved the element of imagination, and of being someone or something else for a day on Halloween. I guess I’ve never really grown out of that! I loved hearing ghost stories and watching scary movies when I was a kid too!
How did you start your collection and what are some of the favorite items or artists that you collect?
I’ve always been drawn to skulls & skeletons, so I think that my collection started years ago with lots of gothic styled decor. I would usually go shopping for my own style of home decor during Halloween season. Since then my style has evolved a bit. One of my favorite places to shop for Halloween decorations is my local pumpkin patch in the Fall. They have an awesome gift shop, and that’s where I found my 1st Johanna Parker piece a couple of years ago. I was hooked right away, and since then have collected quite a few of her pieces including mugs, candy dishes, teapots, salt and pepper shakers, and figurines. I also really love Bethany Lowe’s Halloween collection, and of course her collaborations with Johanna Parker are AMAZING!
What is it that draws you to certain collection or artists?
I am really drawn to vintage inspired Halloween decorations. I love the colors & how eerie, yet cute some characters can be. I find that to be true with lots of Johanna Parker pieces. She is hands down my favorite artist, and I love all of her spooky-sweet creations!
Can you show us some of your favorite pieces?
It’s so hard for me to narrow down my favorite pieces. Here are a few that I’ve picked that are pretty special to me.
The above pictured is a Jack O’Lantern cauldron that I purchased at HomeGoods a few years ago. It’s made out of metal, and is actually quite heavy. Although I have lots of candy bowls and dishes, this is my absolute favorite to pass out Halloween candy to all of our neighborhood ghouls and goblins! I use it every year! 🎃
Next up is my beloved Johanna Parker ornament display. This is by far one of my favorite items that I’ve collected! This sits perched up high on my “Haunted Coffee Bar” all year round! 🎃
Here are a few more of my favorite Johanna Parker pieces. These are also part of my coffee bar area!
These two cuties from Vandolls Folk Art are definitely a couple of my favorites as well!
Last but not least, I recently added “Georgie the Ghost” from a small shop called Farm And Foundry, to my collection. He has quickly become one of my favorite pieces, and I display him proudly in my living room!
If you could sit down and talk to the artists, what would to see more of?
Well, I may be a bit biased, but if I could sit down & talk to my favorite artists, I would naturally only ask them for more Halloween themed art! And I’m always happy to see more Johanna Parker & Bethany Lowe collabs! :)
How do you envision your current collection growing? Do you think you’ll keep expanding with the same artists or do you think you’ll want to see more artists in your collection?
I recently added a couple of Lori Mitchell pieces to my collection, and I LOVE them! Her attention to detail is amazing and I would be so happy to add more of her items to my collection.
When you look among your large collection…do have a favorite piece? Why is it your favorite?
Hmmm, that’s difficult to answer! I have so many favorites! It would probably have to be my Johanna Parker ornament display. It’s really special to me because I don’t really see many of them, and everything about it is so cool! I love the wooden ornaments, and the bold colors! I love displaying it in my kitchen!
What other things do you collect (if any) or do for fun (around your collections)?
I collect Halloween Rae Dunn! Lots and lots of it! I mentioned my coffee bar earlier, and I have had lots of fun incorporating my love for Rae Dunn in with my love of JP. This area is my favorite in the house and sparks a lot of joy for me!! Here are a few pictures of that area...
Do you have another holiday that you like to decorate? Tell me about it!
In the recent years, I’ve really come to enjoy decorating for Christmas. That probably has something to do with me collecting Johanna Parker Carnival Cottage pieces last year. I have almost all of the pieces from that collection, and I can’t wait for the holidays to roll around so I can bring them out! ❤️
Kristy definitely loves Halloween Decor and everything Johanna Parker Design! Between Rae Dunn Halloween and Johanna Parker Halloween, she definitely has it covered. I can't wait to see her collection grow this next year and love seeing her change up her Halloween decor. Give her a follow @witchywoman.11 and see all her Halloween displays!