Life & Work with Christina Skopliak

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Skopliak.

Hi Christina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I came to Colorado in 2000. I loved the “mild” winters and never looked back! I studied Interior Design in Canada and proceeded to explore a career in the field when I came to Denver. While school provided me with the fundamentals, the real world taught me that the Interior Design industry is vast and varied and after many years of trying my hand at several types of interior design, I realized that the ones which afforded me the largest creative outlet served me best. I have always known myself to be independent and tenacious when it comes to pushing forward with something I believe in. While the current global pandemic has hit everyone with varying degrees of horror and stress, it afforded me and my colleague an opportunity to take the plunge and form our own business, Wild Muse Interiors. I have never second guessed my intuition and it has yet to steer me wrong. With a long and loyal history of client relationships, Wild Muse Interiors may be the “new kid” on the block but is by no means new to the hospitality and leisure industry. Yes, I’m working my butt off now more than ever but I can honestly say that it is worth it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Crunching numbers, business forecasting, taxes and lawyers. These were all but a few of the things foreign to my creative brain. Reaching out to friends and asking for help was crucial. It was so helpful to hear, “You should talk to them. They’re great. I’ll give you their contact info.” And so it went. It was months of fact gathering and puzzling to figure out my next step. Most days were spent trying to navigate government websites, decipher definitions coded in lengthy legalese and learn what the heck an EIN is why it’s important to have one.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself a creative person. For much of my adult life, I have held an interior design career by day and ran a successful hobby in my off hours hand sewing dog collars through Etsy. My love for dogs is very well known amongst my friends. The business is called Stinky and Sweet Pea. I love it. It provides a smoothly and simplistic outlet to my more stressful day career as an Interior Designer. Both companies have their own unique accomplishments for which I am proud of. Completion of the historic Colorado National Bank conversation to the Renaissance Hotel Downtown Denver was definitely a highlight of my career. On a very different level but equally gratifying is when I recognize dogs and their happy humans who have consistently bought collars from me over the years to celebrate a holiday, life event or simply to spoil them. It makes me feel apart of a great story in which a dog was loved.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My dogs. (well, all dogs truthfully) Being present in the moment. (very hard for me to do) Popcorn. (extra butter and parmesan cheese)

Contact Info:

• Email: xtinadesigns@gmail.com
• Website: www.stinkyandsweetpea.com
• Instagram: @stinkyandsweetpea