10 Random Facts About Me

July 2025 marks 6 years in business for Accessories by Antoinette! I want to thank you all for being here, whether it’s by interacting with our social media posts, reading the blog or visiting us at markets.

Accessories by Antoinette isn’t a giant soul-sucking corporation like Amazon or Temu, and we strive to make high quality accessories for YOU, and we can thanks to your support. I think one of the greatest things about supporting any small business is you have the opportunity to learn about the team behind the screen, not just engage in the bland and overused slop from corporations who don’t know – or care – about you.

And so, here are 10 completely raw and random facts about myself!

1. I’m a Scorpio – and I once found a scorpion in my bed! I wish I had pictures of it, but it was well before the time I had a phone or any semblance of how fun it would be to share in a blog or on social media.

One night, I went to hop into bed and found a small, tan-coloured scorpion on my bedsheets. Everyone thought I was mistaking it for an earwig, since I was young, but it was confirmed to be a scorpion! It was a very random experience – and I have never seen another scorpion out in the wild since!

2. My favourite ice cream pairings include chocolate with hazelnut, mint choc chip or cookies and cream. Although mint choc chip ice cream gets a lot of hate for tasting like toothpaste, I love how minty it is! And pairing it with a scoop of chocolate ice cream is the ultimate treat. I also can’t pass up a scoop of hazelnut ice cream, or the classic cookies and cream.

3. My top three favourite animals include: cats, bears and octopi! I feel that my love for cats and octopi is more well-known fact than my love and ever-growing obsessions for bears. They are so cute, cuddly and fluffy-looking, despite being deadly death machines. That said, if I ever have the chance to meet a bear up close (not in the wild, of course), it would be tempting not to say no!

4. I have only broken one bone – touch wood! I broke my arm in 2011, after falling over during a P.E. class when my shoe fell off. I automatically held out my arms to brace my fall, but landed on top of my left arm instead.

It wasn’t a fun experience to break my arm, but the worst part about the entire incident was that my x-rays were initially misread and I was given an inappropriately sized cast. A day and a half later, with still no improvement to the pain I was in, we returned and they discovered that my fracture was worse than they had originally realised.

I can’t remember the experience of the first cast being put on, but I distinctly remember the agony of my second, when the person applying the cast chose to squeeze my newly broken wrist. I understand that the cast needed to be snug for my break to heal correctly, but it was a truly agonising experience. I still cringe when I think about it!

5. I love puns. I’m particularly good with coming up with cheese and plant puns on the spot – it’s a curse (or a blessing, depending on if you like puns) to go grocery shopping with me!I find that puns are a gouda way to make people smile and a brie-lliant way to get laughs and eyerolls! It's cheesy, and a lot of people say I should be more mature, but dairy I say, puns have my heart! And cheese is especially delicious!

6. I don’t wear sneakers anymore. My go-to shoes are boots, and pair of slip-on ballet flats that I wear religiously otherwise. I haven’t worn sneakers since high school and I don’t plan to start again any time soon.

For a lot of my life, sneakers were the forced dress code. Now that I’m free, I refuse to go back! While it may sound ridiculous, some of the worst moments of my life occurred when I was in sneakers. I’ve tried to go back to wearing them, but I can’t bring myself to put on a pair. Sneakers make me feel horrible – and they always have. I’ve spent a lot of time to find the brands and styles that I love (and suit my Hobbit feet), and I feel much better in myself for wearing clothes that I like, and that I’m not being forced to wear.

At markets, you’ll always find me in a pair of boots.

7. My favourite plant would definitely be jade. It started off as buying a single jade plant in 2023 because I liked the look of it, and now I have a couple different varieties that I am propagating!

Whenever I am out and about, jade plants always seem to be catching my eye. I even purchased one at a market, neither the stallholder or myself knowing exactly what type of plant it was (since it was growing rogue in her garden). After some research, turns out it was a jade plant!

8. I’m a casual gamer! Some of my favourite games include Stardew Valley and Project Zomboid – which I am new to, but loving playing so far! One of my favourite video game series is Little Nightmares, even though I still have to dedicate some time playing the second game for myself!

9. I have a fear of caterpillars – specifically stemming from the Australian armyworm (which IS a caterpillar, despite the name).

I won’t put a picture of them up here because I even the sight of them makes me feel nauseous, but you’ve likely had run-ins with them yourself. The Australian armyworm is a thin, wriggly caterpillar that has silk-like webs. They are green, often with vertical stripes along their body and a reddish coloured head.

Other caterpillars don’t bother me as much, especially the cute fluffy ones. But something about the Australian armyworm is enough to make my skin crawl and make me want to be sick. It’s weird!

10. I never saw myself as being a small business owner. It was never an aspiration of mine growing up.

For most of my life, I was peer pressured into wanting to be a veterinarian. I said it as a child, and growing up, I was never allowed to change my mind. Fast forward to 2018 – and I just didn’t know what to do with myself. Had you told me that in the following year, I would be launching my very own small business, I wouldn’t believe it!

That being said, it has completely changed my life and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else! Accessories by Antoinette has given me the opportunity to be creative in so many ways, and I have all of you to be able to thank for the ability to pursue this dream.

Thank you for reading this blog post, and for being here for Accessories by Antoinette!

As a thank you for reading, for the month of July, you can use the code BIRTHDAY6 for 20% OFF your next online order. This code will be active until the 31st of July, 2025. Happy shopping!

Kimberley (they/them)

Accessories by Antoinette