Here is your kit

Last summer, like every summer in Texas, it was deafeningly hot. Temperatures reached the triple digits every day for weeks. The air was sticky with humidity and the sun baked the sweat on my skin. It was too hot to be outside without shade, sunscreen, and a body of water. I wanted nothing more than to dive deep into the cool, consistently 68-degree water of Barton Springs Pool here in Austin. But like everything else in early summer 2020, the pool was closed. Uncertain when it would reopen or what other safe, socially distant options were available to me, I did what we all had already been doing for the past few months. I stayed home. I stayed inside. I cranked up the air conditioning, trying to stay cool. Inside my apartment, I had so much time on my hands. I was unemployed, laid off due to the pandemic like millions of others. I tried baking, reading, writing, you name it, but usually I ended up with a screen in front of my face. Watching TV and endlessly scrolling on my phone soon filled me with boredom and anxiety, as too much screen time tends to do. I decided to do some late “spring cleaning” one day. During my clean, I rediscovered a container under my bed that was filled with a stack of paper that had been cut and ripped out of old textbooks, atlases, and picture books. This was material I saved years ago when I would collage with friends, a fun and easy activity for even the least "creative" among us. We used to spend hours collaging. I was enticed by my old hobby and its potential to lift me out of my boredom. I started going through it. It contained beautiful, intricate, and fascinating images of people, animals, places, and inventions. These pages were from books about photography, the desert, airplanes, Marilyn Monroe, gardening, and everything in between. When catching up with the friends I had collaged with, who now live in different states, I asked if they wanted me to create a collage for them. I had plenty of time on my hands. And so did they. So instead, they asked for me to curate pieces that I thought they'd like and send that to them. In a way, it was a win-win. I flexed my creative muscles by assembling something beautiful and they took those random pieces and did whatever they wanted with them. That's how I started creating collage kits, which came to be the brand Here is Your Kit. Each kit is a one-of-a-kind montage of images and words that I found striking enough to want to pass on to someone else. I've been told kits I've created have reminded the recipient of a relative who passed away, a happy childhood memory, a trip they took, or a place they'd like to visit. Collage kits are a way to connect us to whatever it is we need. And during the summer of 2020, there was so much we needed to feel connected to. To me, they are the best embodiment of the phrase "everyone is creative" - something I believe with all my heart. It's been almost a year since I've created my first kit. Since then, I've created over 100 kits for friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers to celebrate birthdays, Christmases, holidays, and just because. It gives me such joy to cut and curate these little pieces of art. They reflect the endless potential we all have to do, make, and be. If you'd like a kit, please message me on Instagram at @hereisyourkit. I'd be happy to send you one; it'll be one of a kind.