Kristine Culig
BELLE AME BY KC
VICTORIA, BC
My name is Kristine Anne Culig-- owner and operator of Belle Ame by KC; a self-taught jewelry-maker/designer in Victoria, B.C.
I am Filipino-Canadian-- born in the Philippines, grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, and created my own family here in Victoria. I am a wife, a young mom of one beautiful boy and two silly bunnies.
Belle Ame by KC started at the comfort of my own home as a hobby at the beginning of the pandemic in March. While I work in healthcare and believe me it’s so rewarding to help others, my soul is just hungry for something else and found my niche in bringing Belle Ame by KC to life. It all really started with people who believed in me-- I have my first clients to thank for their demands of customized jewelry...and I just kept on going from there. I’m a mental health advocate and I support Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), but this year (2021) I found out that we have a non-profit organization here in Victoria called Mental Health Society of Victoria (@mhsvictoria on instagram) and I am a strong believer that what better way to help the world end the stigma and break down barriers is to start with yourself, your family, and your community. *25% of my earnings goes to MHS Victoria*
Thank you to Brittany (@beliizabeth) for noticing me and for believing in me that I have what it takes to be a female CEO (@_femaleceo).
When opportunity presents itself, don't be afraid to go after it. ❤️ Representing Victoria in a Canada-wide🇨🇦 competition is such an honour...but not forgetting that I represent myself first-- my roots🇵🇭; being a woman. I want to inspire women, who were put in this little box by the standards of society, to chase after your heart's desires. You can do it too, sis! 😊✨
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WHY IS BEING A FEMALE CEO SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“Flashback from college life and being a mom at the same time.
My college director and teachers have told me: “You are brilliant-- a linchpin; a force to be reckoned with.” But little did they know that I was a girl full of self-doubt and struggled with anxiety. Although applauded for joggling school, a full-time job, and taking care of a baby-- it’s not ideal. You can’t pour from an empty cup. They had no idea that before I delivered my valedictory speech, I had thoughts of walking out many times because of my anxiety. But I showed up. I didn’t only want to show up-- I wanted to show up feeling full and leaving that stage feeling accomplished. I felt empty.
Fast forward to today… I am writing this with a grateful heart. My anxiety is still there-- it creeps in from time to time except now I am able to say, “I am so much more and I know I am enough.”
I stand with many women who’d put themselves in that little box to tell them that: “It’s okay to be scared. But you don’t belong in that little box. You never were.” or “You’re way too beautiful than what society’s standards want you to be.”
So, why is being a female entrepreneur important to me?
I want to be one of the women who breaks the barriers of how a woman should be. I don’t only want to be defined by what I have achieved, but how I survived-- that it took hard work to get to where I am now-- and not just in the business side of things but how I worked on my inner self to be here-- coming alive, and living my passion and the best version of myself. Just putting that out there to the universe. I believe that no hard work will ever go unnoticed.”
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”
