Meet kristina prater | DJ & Floral Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with kristina prater and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi kristina, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk can be challenging but also rewarding. I think taking risks is crucial to any kind of creative or personal growths because you challenge yourself in ways you may not have explored yet. Taking risks can be intimidating sometimes, but it has helped me achieve skills and opportunities that, at the time, didn’t seem attainable. You know when you’re first starting out in something, it’s kind of hard to imagine where you’ll end up or how things will go. Taking risks is the only way to get past those obstacles and persevere.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
DJing to me is a refreshing form of self expression and cathartic release. Being someone that finds it hard to communicate what I’m feeling at times, DJing and blending songs/sounds together gives me the outlet to do that. Mixing songs I like and sharing them with others, I feel seen and heard. It’s rewarding to look up from playing a set and seeing people dancing and enjoying themself on the dance floor. I just enjoy mixing music that makes people feel good and want to dance. Music that makes me happy and that I’m happy to share with others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I reside in the Bishop Arts area, but one place I love to visit anytime, would be Lula B’s. They have 2 locations and I feel like I can always find something interesting and unique there. They have a ton of vintage clothes, knick knacks, vinyl, weird treasures and so much more. It’s a gem for sure! The Texas Theater has cool history obviously, but it’s a great place to see a movie. Along with new and upcoming movies, they also bring back older movies to show in the theater, sometimes even with a live score or 35mm restoration. If I were to go out for a drink I would probably say Barbara’s Pavilion or the Grapevine Bar, I enjoy any kind of dive bar atmosphere with a pool table.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve met many DJs and event organizers throughout Dallas and Denton that have given me amazing opportunities to DJ for their events. Before moving to Dallas I lived in Denton for some time and a good friend of mine gave me my first DJ controller. This was a huge deal for me because obtaining my own controller was something I wasn’t financially prepared for at the time. It really gave me the opportunity to push myself into mixing and finding my way into DJing. After doing that in my room for like a year, I would play often at Rubber Gloves until moving to Dallas and getting to play more frequently with DJ Body Mop who curates the dance night, Huephoria. Body Mop puts a crazy amount of effort into Huephoria in terms of curating shoots/creating the flyers, making sure there is always some kind of immersive aspect, and booking great DJs from the DFW. Shared Frequencies Radio in Austin is another platform that I think should be recognized because they give DJs from around the world the ability to share their talents and music through their online radio platform. Their residency program is a solid opportunity to put yourself out there because you can curate a show/mix based around whatever you want. It’s especially great for those that are just starting out.

Instagram: @eyes.on.the.frize

Other: soundcloud.com/kaspy1

Image Credits
all image credits go to Daven Martinez aside from the photo of me with the roller skates on and the netting behind me.