Katrina Galera who is of Filipino descent and born and raised in Southern California graduated from CSU Long Beach with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Forensic Science in May of 2018. She is currently applying to get her Master’s degree in Nursing. In her spare time she likes to do Tahitian dancing, surfing, snowboarding, snorkeling, playing guitar and ukulele, travel, sing, sew and create jewelry. Among those hobbies, she is also the proud owner of a small business called ‘Island Honey.’
In November of 2020 Katrina started a brand called ‘krbgdesigns.’ During the winter season she picked up snowboarding and was looking for a cute snowboarding hood to match the rest of her snow gear. After weeks of looking around snowboard shops and online, she noticed there were a limited amount of snowboard hoods, so Katrina decided to use her sewing skills to try and make her own. After many trials and errors, a little guidance from YouTube videos and online sewing patterns, Katrina applied what she learned with her sewing skills and created her own pattern.
“After lots of failed attempts, frustration, jammed sewing machines and wasted fabric, I finally created a perfect snowboard hood! I made so many hoods that my time making one hood went from 3.5 hours to 25 minutes.”
Fast forward to 2022, Katrina expanded her shop by creating other pieces such as lanyards, wrist keychains, hydro flask straps, jewelry, tote bags and hip weighted sand belts. She then went on to rename her brand from ‘krbgdesigns’ to ‘Island Honey,’ which she gives credit to her best friends Jacob and Rachel for coming up with the name.
As of now Katrina considers her small business as more of a hobby and just wants to continue creating pieces that people enjoy and love. With her main focus on going to nursing school and becoming a nurse, she hasn’t given much thought about where this small business might take her but would be open to seeing it grow into a small shop where she can hire employees.
“I think I would still work full-time and have this still be a side business but only God knows the future.”
Because Katrina makes all her products herself she doesn’t have much time to market or advertise for her business but her best friends Nia and Gracielle handle the social media part by making videos and taking photos.
Like every beginning of something new, there was uncertainty, worrisome feelings and self doubt for Katrina such as asking herself whether she’d make sales, if her products were good enough and if people would even like them enough to make a purchase. A lot of questions played out in her mind and a lot of emotions hit hard but with motivation, love and support from her family and friends, she kept applying herself to her craft and sure enough she was receiving orders from around the world through her Etsy shop.
During her 1st pop up shop, she was surprised at the love and attention she got that it inspired her to do more pop ups. During her 2nd pop up, all those feelings she had with her 1st one came flooding back but she continued to push herself to go that extra step to get her name noticed as well as creating a setup that showcases a distinguished and unique island vibe. With an idea in mind, Katrina could not wait to share with everyone her creative vision.
“I wanted it to feel like my customers were walking up to a pop-up that felt like they were on a tropical getaway. I wanted to have that earthy, island and coconut feel to my pop-up; so I changed my theme colors to brown, tan, black with a pop of color.”
By her 3rd and 4th pop-up she became a natural pop-up shop hostess. As her confidence increased she finally felt proud enough to show off her products and booth at local marketplaces such as the 714 Market in Anaheim. Because of her constant growth with her small business, she had a handful of other marketplaces and event coordinators reach out to her to be one of their vendors.
“I think it’s so funny to look back at my first pop-up and see how far I’ve come. Doubt still sometimes trickles into my head here and there but I’ve received so much support that it’s an afterthought.”
As Katrina continues to draw in more supporters and perfect her craft, she feels a little more pressure to make sure there are no flaws because she wants people to buy items that are made with the highest quality and craftsmanship. With the amount of admiration and recognition Katrina has received, she has already made an imprint in her craftsmanship and as a star seller.
When people share photos in their snowhoods and jewelry, tag her on Instagram or write a positive review on Etsy, she thinks to herself, “Dang I really made that with my own two hands and creativity. And someone loves it?!” With the beautiful pieces of jewelry Katrina makes, customers are reminded of fond memories about special people and places. It’s moments like a simple tag, review or comment that leaves a surreal and heartwarming feeling for Katrina.
“It means so much more when customers connect with pieces on a deeper level.”
So if you're looking for cute jewelry, new accessories, looking to upgrade your snowboarding gear or just something to keep you warm, I would definitely check out Katrina's shop 'Island Honey'. I have purchased my own cozy hood and can't wait to show it off during the winter season.
As a former Tahitian sister and friend to Katrina, I admire what you’re doing and am so happy for you. I wish you the best on your endeavors with becoming a Nurse and hope to make it to one of your pop-ups soon!
To stay up to date on when Katrina’s next pop-up will be and to get a look at her products follow her business accounts on Instagram @islandhoney.co and islandhoney.snow. You can also find her Etsy shop, 'shopislandhoney.' If you’d like, give her a follow on her personal account @galerakr and travel with her on her next adventure or even catch video snippets of her dancing Tahitian.
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