By Hobby Horse CEO Kristin Darnall-Titov
Pickles. He is my 4-year-old stallion that I have been showing in all the major NRHA aged events. He puts a lot of pressure on me to ride my best because he is so talented. He is so physical and there is so much he can do, so it is on me to get the most out of him without asking too much. If I don’t ride him the very best I can for the five minutes I am in the show pen, I am in a sense letting him down. He also has this fantastic "work hard play hard" work ethic. He loves his job and doing full speed reining maneuvers; that’s what is fun for him. He doesn’t want to mess around or go back to his stall — even at the end of his show when he should be ready to go home! At the same time, he is so silly and plays hard when we are not riding. He has a jolly ball in his stall and will play with it all day. It is as it should be in life — when you are working you do everything to the best you can, when you are not working you should be enjoying life and having fun, and if we can do both at once, we should.
My Husband. Dave is honestly one of the most intelligent people I know. He is absolutely brilliant. There is such credibility about him because he has such high standards in each aspect of his life. With everything he does in life, he holds himself to that standard. He makes stuff happen but at the same time he is a super kind, generous, thoughtful human and he is just the best husband. We have been married since July 1, 2000. We were only 22 when got married and he has evolved and grown into someone that truly inspires me.
Nature. I went on vacation to Hawaii, I fell in love with the Monstera leaf and then the pattern appeared on Hobby Sport fabric. We also hiked on two miles on hardened lava to where it was flowing. It is so sparkly and takes on so many other colors and it is beautiful. That is how Hulali started – Hulali is how you say sparkly in Hawaiian. Cacti, colors, patterns, I see inspiration in all of it. Or if I see a beautiful wave with the contrast of a sky I try and think how I can pull those colors into a piece. Streams also inspire me. The flow, the subtle change, the persistence, and sounds give me energy and inspiration.
Boss Babes. There are so many boss babes who inspire me — in this photo there are just a few of them. Two of them are brilliant and successful business women, one travels the world and is an incredible photographer, one has done an amazing job balancing being a mom and wife while working, one just picked up a new sport and is totally killing it — they have done it all. The women who inspire me are creative, innovative, and make things happen!It doesn’t matter if it is a male dominated industry – they will rock it regardless.
Fashion. I love to keep up with fashion. I’m always going through fashion magazines. I also like to watch So You Think You Can Dance and take pictures of the screen when I see costumes that I think I can take inspiration from. Sometimes I will watch Avant Garde runway shows or see couture pieces and incorporate aspects from it where it makes sense. Some people look at those pieces and say ‘real people don’t wear that,’ and they are right, but it gives me ideas to tweak.
Art. The piece of art in this photo, I absolutely love. The horse’s eye is so beautiful and captures so much expression, plus the abstract aspects such as the mane that are so unexpected and special. The artist is a friend of mine and I am just obsessed with this piece. Art will inspire me, not in the sense that I am going to mold it into a shirt or something, but seeing people create and innovate in that way. She took an idea and turned it into a piece of art. Whereas when I incorporate fashion, it is not as direct. It is inspiring to see people create in a way I don’t have. It is so beautiful to me and I can really appreciate it because it is so outside of myself — I could try and practice for decades and I could never do that.
Painting by Sue Gillette
Fabric. I love going to Los Angeles to look for fabrics and come back with things that we can create with. Sometimes I see fabrics and I love them immediately, but I don’t know what to create with them, so I buy a couple of yards, or sometimes I take a photo of the fabric for reference. Then there are times I look at something and just instantly know it is a jacket or a vest and exactly how it should be laid out. Sometimes I just know from looking at it; right away. Other times I like a fabric and then want to take and customize it to become even better than it was.