Who is Kimiko?

There's more to me than meets the eye!

Hello!

I am Kimiko Small, and who I am will take awhile to inadequately describe. However, please read this page, as there are many links located throughout this page. There are also various photos available to download.

Bit of the basics

Let's see... where should I start! How about a little about me. My name is Kimiko, which means "lucky" in Japanese (according to my Mom). Yes, I was born in Japan. So that's why I chose kimiko1.com, as it translates to "lucky one". com .

I am married to a wonderful man named Robin. We have a young toddler boy together, and a laughing baby girl. I also have another wonderful older son who currently lives with his father and is going to college. We also have several cats who live here: Marien, Sandy, and Lady Grey, all children of sweet Gabby, who passed on this year.

I spend my free time with Robin, Craig and Roger, all close friends of mine. Another friend Scott moved to Monterey, and he is missed. My best lady friend Kalen moved to Washington state with her family, and I miss her terribly.

After several years working as a bookkeeper, I graduated (Spring 1998) from CSU Fresno, in Business/Accounting. It took me many years, but I finally did it (Wahoooo!). However, my goals are not to do the usual accounting position at a CPA firm somewhere. I just wanted to get my degree finished. I finally realized that I am a little too creative to handle doing taxes during IRS season (please, no slight intended against those who do, it just isn't my cup of tea!) I find the creative fields of costuming and web design more my passion to follow.

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Renaissance Faires

I once was the guildmistress of the Historical Friends of Clan MacLeod. They were truly my family away from home. I was with the guild since it's inception in 1989. I previously held the position of Treasurer, prior to becoming Guildmistress in 1993.

Because of my leadership position in the MacLeods, I became more concerned with faire membership in general, and so I added more "hats" to wear. I was the Central Valley Ambassador for C.I.R.G.A., I was extensively involved in the activities of the Hanford Renaissance of Kings (HROK), and in 1998, I worked with Michael Butler as HROK Entertainment Committee Co-Production Chair, specifically working with the Encampments and Street Entertainment. I since let others take the leadership roles, when I went on sabbatical from Renaissance Faires in 1998. I returned back to the renaissance community in 2003 and am now involved with the Isle of Mann renaissance guild. I have just joined the SCA.

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Costuming

Because of my involvement in Faire and the SCA, I enjoy researching, designing and creating historical costumes. I am the type of person to research any particular area of interest, and I have collected a small library of constantly growing sources, both in general history, and in costume/clothing history. I enjoy creating Renaissance era clothes, and have developed specialties in English Tudor and Irish/Scots clothing. I also create clothing of other nationalities as my interests grow. I have a small collection of costume books on the Victorian & Civil War eras, and hope to branch into those areas as well.

I take a small bit of pride in my costume workmanship. I have been sewing clothes since I was a little girl, and often, many parts of my outfits are finished by hand. I like to create unique outfits, fitted to the various body styles, made to enhance those I create for. I also enjoy the embellishment of a piece, whether it is by embroidery, beading, or the interplay of fabric. My warderobe accounts with pictures in this site have many costumes created by my hand, especially those I or my family and friends wear, both men and women. It also has a section on my research and free items.

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The Camarilla

In 1998, I joined with The Camarilla, a non-profit international Live Action Role Playing (LARP) organization. Their main emphasis is on White Wolf games, such as playing a dark vampire, or a fantastical changeling or a powerful mage. I have made many friends, both here and around the world, who enjoy the many facets LARP has to offer.

My last position within the organization was the US National Finance Coordinator (back to that accounting thing). I have held positions as ARC Web Communications for the South West Region, ADC Web for the Domain of Myst, and ACC Web for my local chapter of the Dark Tower. As you can see, I have spent a lot of time creating and maintaining web sites for the Camarilla.

I am no longer involved in The Camarilla (NPO), as they were stolen by the White Wolf company (the creators of the World of Darkness games) who took the name and are trying to run it as their own. The current Camarilla organization is not the NPO, and I will have no part of their politics, organization, storyline or anything else tainted by White Wolf.

However, before the demise of The Camarilla NPO, I was working on a version of the International website, and you can see what that looked like here.

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Other Interests

I also have other interests, such as the music of Loreena McKennitt or Kate Price, both of whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person. I have become a new fan to Heather Alexander, with her _Wonderlust_ album. I also enjoy Tempest, which is biased, since Mike Mullins, their fiddler, is a former AD&D gaming friend of mine from way back (he played a great bard, go figure!)

On TV, my favorite shows present and past include Commander in Chief (love a strong leading lady), Stargate: SG1, Stargate: Atlantis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Whose Line is it Anyway, Dr. Phil, Oprah, The Tick, Babylon 5; Star Trek (all of them) the X-Files; and Earth: Final Conflict (Yes, I am a Sci-Fi fan!) My current favorite movie is still Titanic, expecially for the costumes. However Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings Trillogy is a fav. Most of my currently read books are historical or historical fiction. It wasn't always that way, but I haven't had much time to read the fantasy/sci-fi books I used to devour nightly.

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Conclusion

So, that's a bit about me. There is a lot more of course, but that is something that takes time to understand. I hope that this little tidbit helps your knowledge of me, which is what the internet in its own way is much about. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to write. I enjoy reading people's e-mails, and hope to hear from you as well.