Kerry Hargraves

Becoming a Bodacious Bad-ass Old Broad (and that's exactly what I am) has been quite a journey. Free spirited and artistic, I worked corporate jobs in the medical device and software industries for decades, keeping creativity as a hobby. A radio broadcast rocked me from my rut a into delivering flamboyances of flamingos to delighted and surprised customers in the San Francisco Bay area. Contrasting that business with life as an executive and consultant lead me to incorporate play into every aspect of my life.

Running the flamingo delivery business for 16 years as well as several years as a custom sign maker showed me definitively that it isn’t WHAT you do, but HOW you do it that makes all the difference.

Getting older I began to see a great need for women to strip off their fascade, show their curves, be proud of the wrinkles. and wear the orange stretch pants with the purple and green polka-dotted blouse (or whatever your authentic expression looks like.) Owning your life, your look, and your legacy – playing can be your full time job.

As women, we sometimes get caught up in the roles we play, not realizing (or ignoring) what truly makes up happy. I am a wife, mother to a human daughter and 2 fur babies, a retired business owner, recovering corporate executive, artist, lover of great cocktails, craft-a-holic, Arizona resident, and a whole lot of other roles that, quite frankly, don’t begin to define the whole me.

Can I tell you a secret?

Your roles, past awards, and the things you do for others are not the sum of your happiness. That comes from you; the real, deep, dark, and even absurdly silly things that bring you joy. I’ve met one too many miserable old biddies that have lost their way as their titles and roles shift.

Through finding myself…yes even at my “ripe old age” I’ve had to rediscover myself, learn who I am and how I am meant to be NOW. And how is that? I am:

Sexy - Silly - Creative - Loving - Fun - Feisty - Caring - Giving - Playful

Mostly though, I am curious. I LOVE figuring out why peole act that way. I LOVE breaking things to figure out how they work and how to fix them. I LOVE new technologies and gadgets, and discovering how to help others use them more creatively.

Funny thing though (OK, maybe not so funny, it’s just the damn truth) I am done trying to do something because someone says I should! And I have earned the right to live playfully and messily.

Playful for me is:

Learning cool things whether out of clay, or wood, or strange objects I find;

Experimenting with new art mediums and mixing old ones in new ways;

Discovering the perfect cocktail for before, after, and even during dinner;

Aging my own beef. (Yes, I eat beef any chance i get.)

Blowing bubbles when conversations get too serious

Drinking bubbles for any occasion and for no reason except i want to.