photos / Brian Bruno
story / Miz Kane
During childhood, we receive encouragement from multiple sources to allow ourselves to think that nothing is impossible and to stretch our imaginations, if need be, to help us believe so. Just taking a look at all the animations geared towards youth, we’re almost trained to become acclimated with the idea that the personification of inanimate objects is a normal occurrence.
As we round the bend into adulthood, we’re prone to becoming more closed off to the capabilities of this Earth as we become hardened by our experiences and even become a bit jaded. That whimsical, open-minded mentality slips away with age for many, but for some of us, we learn how to hold onto that energy and find ways to apply it to our lives that allows us to still see the hidden beauties of life.
All-around creative and ethereal social media maven Audrey Kitching has found ways to conjure up some of that inner magic via self-love, self-expression, and on ongoing digital art exhibit. Spreading her positive energy through her shop Crystal Cactus, this Earth angel is a societal-norms rebel here to encourage us all to let our light shine and keep hold of that innocent wonderment that provides a rose-colored filter to life that only a few are privy to.
One’s self-image is key. How do you personally describe yourself?
I like to think I can’t be easily defined. I’m forever in transition. I’m the butterfly who never peaks. If you never peak, you can never fall. I’m always gliding upwards.
A lot of your art surrounds flowers. What made you want to personify flowers with human emotions via the hashtag, #FlowersFeelToo? What’s the reason for your affinity for flowers (other than their obvious beauty)?
I believe whatever you did as a child, before the human word conditioned you, is what you are meant to do. At a young age, I was pressing flowers in telephone books, making floral crowns, curating fairy soup (a very magical garden concoction as you can imagine, I’m sure), drying herbs… All the photos of me as a child are adorned with flowers. They have always been part of me. Flowers are so beautiful and we pick them to watch them die. We forget that these are living things. To be completely honest, I didn’t really have a grand plan in mind. I just started doing it and it became its own entity within itself.
How have you constructed your own heaven on Earth and how would you instruct others to do so for themselves?
To me, heaven on Earth is about being true to yourself; honoring and loving yourself so much that nothing can ever influence that or take it away from you. True peace is living by your own rules. Not allowing society to define or conform you. Not getting sucked into the web of ego and materialism. My heaven is filled with everything that is free in this world, everything people take for granted because they are chasing paper… Well, except for chocolate, silk lingerie, bubble bath, and chandeliers. That stuff I actually have to pay for. I tried making a deal with the angels, but no victory yet.
The items in your Crystal Cactus shop are beautiful! Tell me about some of your personal favorites that you sell and what you use them for.
We recently just relaunched the site with over 100 new items. I’m always striving to find and create better, more nuanced healing modalities. My current favorites are the gem honey (which is an amazing body oil infused with crystals that smells like heaven), our moonstone body soap (need I say more?), and our real butterfly chokers. Everything carries a vibration and to walk around with a preserved butterfly hanging over your throat Chakra, that’s going to infuse some serious transformation in your daily communication without a doubt.
How have your products positively contributed to your lifestyle, personally?
That’s the coolest thing about Crystal Cactus. These are actually all real products and jewelry that I have been creating for myself over the years. I would never stock anything I wouldn’t use myself. I’m not trying to sell anyone anything. It is my livelihood, yes; but I also strongly believe that when you create something with passion and soul, the rest is taken care of. I’m not into force feeding anyone or cheap tactics to try and get people to buy my products. My items speak for themselves. I don’t need to put on some grand show and dance. Authenticity just is and has nothing to prove. This world is already filled to the brim with advertising, I take a more organic approach to business. If you create something meaningful with virtue, it sells itself.
Which products would you recommend to those who are not that familiar with crystals, creating energy, tarot, and such, but are interested in learning more?
Runes are beautiful powerful tools for strengthening your own intuition. Tarot cards are great for confirmation and every crystal is a conductor. People need to be more aware of this. Most of the modern new-age movement (which personally think spreads false information) is just telling everyone to throw a crystal on it and that life will be peachy. That’s just not true; these things are amplifiers. They have a consciousness of their own. They need to be taken care of the same way a plant does. For example, a lot of body products now are trying to jump on this new-age trend by adding crystals into them and peddling false healing. They also are using toxic chemicals to create these products. If you add a crystal, which is a conductor and amplifier, into a product filled with toxins, you’re just amplifying the toxins. Crystals are life-changing if you are educated correctly. Please cleanse your crystals; they soak up all that negativity you’re releasing. You don’t want to keep carrying that around in your crystal amplifying it.
What was the intention set behind including various semi-precious stones as gifts for customers with all of your Crystal Cactus orders?
I just love the thought of getting what you need at the right moment. Yes, it does cost us a lot to do this, but it’s so worth it. Every purchase from Crystal Cactus comes with three random crystals. We buy a 20lb box every two weeks. I have given away well over 500lbs of free crystals in the past few years alone. That’s pretty cool.
What is the importance of staying true to yourself to you?
My will to live. I couldn’t live with myself. My honor is in my blood and it runs deep.
Tell me about a time where you felt pressured to dim your light and not fully be your true self. How did you deal with that situation?
Just being a human, in a body, on this plant. The industry and society, in general. The industry is only alive and thriving due to greed and its Siamese twin manipulation. It feeds on convincing people they aren’t beautiful enough, cool enough, clever enough or sexy unless they look like this, watch this movie, listen to this music, use these beauty products, drive this car or wear these clothes. Without that, there would be no industry. I have always been myself since day one. Even when I was in the industry, we clashed on a daily basis. I was never intimidated by it and I was always willing to play the villain no matter what job or paycheck was on the line. I was always a liability to every company or partnership I took strictly because I was honest in my endeavors.
You have a huge following. How do you utilize your platform? What kind of messages do you hope your followers are receiving from you?
My following is this strange enigma to me. A lot of my following has grown up with me. They have been with me for over 12 years. I think I have become more like a museum or a book than most artists or people with a following. Mine aren’t very interactive. They kinda take it all in and let it curate and plant seeds. My content makes people think; it doesn’t issue a response and I love that. I don’t do anything for the response. My energy is very clear about that, it keeps it real. I hope my messages are making ripples in this grand huge ocean of lies. I believe what I’m doing is making a difference and that alone keeps me creating because, actually, I’m simply a very private person with a life on display.
Self-love is pertinent to living in your truth. What are some things you do to communicate to yourself that you love who you are?
You have to be willing to see past it all. The media in today’s world diminishes everyone’s self love. You have to see things for what they really are. Be above it. Take yourself out of the equation and look back down at it like a bird from a tree.
