I was born and raised in good ol' North Carolina (Born in Durham, raised in Randolph County to be exact - Randleman and Asheboro to hone it in a bit further). For as long as I can remember, I've been drawing, doodling, sculpting, etc. My first memories were as a toddler sitting beside my Dad's drafting table. My father was a fine art major and had his table setup in our living room as his art studio. While he worked on projects, I was on the floor beside him with my crayons and pencils making mythical creatures and other-worldly vehicles.

As I grew older, I would always be in my own world, drawing comic-book characters (X-Men rock - yeah...I'm a geek), spacecraft, ligers (okay, maybe scratch that last one), and whatever my imagination could produce. Most of my teachers eventually gave up trying to get me to stop drawing as they realized that, even though I wasn't looking up from my paper, I was soaking in most of what they were saying and normally received really good grades. I guess it was some sort of right brain survival instinct for getting through Social Studies.

Even though I loved comics and drawing, my real love was for Special FX and the constantly evolving and progressing technology that drives the film industry. I really wanted to work for Industrial Light and Magic creating the creatures, spacecraft, etc. that went along with the incredible movies they helped produce. Somehow, I got hooked up with a SFX guy (I think it was Michael Hood ...my apologies if not) from California at a Comic Book convention in Greensboro and he gave me an open invitation to come out and work for him after graduation from Asheboro High School (class of 1993). I was thrilled, but terrified to think about moving across the country with pretty much no experience to put on paper. Eventually my terror won out and I decided to stay around NC and pursue an education in graphic design.

That education began at the local Randolph Community College where I studied and received an Associate in Applied Science degree in Advertising and Graphic Design. This program operated under the watchful eye of Henry Harsch, Joe Covington, Carl Yontz, and several others. The school was basically 4 years of study crammed into two and a half. It was operated much like a graphic agency of old and had several students fuming or in tears after a critique. All-in-all, it was an incredible experience that I wouldn't trade.

After RCC, I transferred to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I went in as a fine art major, eager to get away from the confines of sitting behind a computer and get my hands dirty. Sculpture was my main focus, but I also dug into painting and printmaking. I attended for 1 year which was filled with a series of unfortunate events (to borrow from Lemony Snicket ), including a major bicycle accident which left part of my face and several front teeth in a parking lot beside Mellow Mushroom, moving several times due to roommate issues, and finally having my truck broken into and ransacked. Also, toward the end of this year, I became reacquainted with and started dating an old high school friend, Amanda White, who I would later have the honor of calling my wife.

With all the bad luck behind me, I decided to take a year off and realign myself. I moved to Raleigh to be closer to Amanda, who was at Meredith College, and started a T-Shirt design shop with a friend, Chris Thomas, out of the basement of his house in Cary. This was a good exposure to starting a small business and made me realize that I had a lot to learn, but an excellent experience nonetheless. In January of 1997, my grandfather passed away and I started to put some things back into perspective. He was the only grandfather I had known growing up and I decided to move back to Asheboro to be near family and try and figure out some next steps. I worked several odd jobs (construction, tire store, sign shop) never quite feeling I was finding my niche. Amanda graduated before summer of 1997 and decided she would take some graduate courses at good ol' ASU. I figured this was as good a time as any to wrap up my schooling, so after a two week jaunt to Scotland with Amanda, we packed up and headed back up the hill.

The scene opens back in Boone, NC with Kris back in the art Department at ASU.  I waited tables at an incredible restaurant in Blowing Rock called The Best Cellar (I highly recommend it for an outstanding dining experience - if you happen to go, check out the mural in the waiting area - it's one of my early painting commissions). While in school, I decided that Amanda was the one I wanted to while away the hours of time with and proposed on her birthday (December 17, 1998) at the Chophouse in Greensboro, NC.  Astonishingly, she said "yes," and we began plans to wed the next year.

I graduated just before the summer of 1999 and got a job with the North Carolina Zoological Park in the Exhibit Design Department.  I got to use my sculptural welding experience to make artificial rocks for the revision of the Chimpanzee exhibit. There were some great people in this department and I learned a lot through on the job training - and even more about how the state runs a business (some I appreciate...most I don't).  Since it was only a part-time position and it didn't look like a permanent position would open up, I took a job with a local husband and wife business called Two Oaks Studio that made artificial rocks and other items for high-end homes (on a side note, a permanent job actually did open up after I accepted the position at Two Oaks -  I was offered the position, but had gotten a taste of the freedom of the open market and decided to hang there for a while).  Roger and Jan at Two Oaks gave me an incredible amount of responsibility and taught me a great deal more to add to my learning portfolio.  They even took a chance and let me design their website (my first) which is still in place today (I need to get them an update as I've learned much since then).  I worked with them until the end of summer 2002, when I found my path back to graphic design...read on, oh ye faithful.

Whew! Are you still with me??? I'm impressed.  You'll be ready for the Kris Julian edition of Jeopardy, if the deal ever goes through.  OK..let's continue.

My next stop was First National Bank (now CommunityOne ).  The marketing department, headed up by Mr. Cooper Thornton,  was in search of an in-house graphic designer to handle and expanding load of responsibility as the bank was growing and acquiring positions in new markets across North Carolina. I was able to get a feel for an office and corporate environment, manage strict deadlines, and work with an outstanding design team.

Also, during this time, a couple of friends and I opened a Graphic Design and Print shop called MainSales Design.  Scott would work at the shop during the day while I was at FNB, and I would roll in after hours for the night shift while he held down a job at Rock-Ola Restaurant.  His brother, Michael, helped out with sales and getting our name spread around NC. We started the thing on a shoestring and a dream and it has progressed to a rather prominent entity in Asheboro (with several bumps and bruises along the way).  The identity of MainSales has morphed more into the sign business (now doing business as Able Custom Signs) with minimal focus on print and websites.

I worked at both FNB and MainSales for a year before going full-time at MainSales in September of 2003.  We went through a lot of transitions, new business ventures, hollering matches, etc.  In November of 2006, my wife and I welcomed our incredible baby girl, Emma Grace, into the world and progressively watched that world turn upside down.  Yeah, yeah...I know...they say a baby changes everything - but, whoah!  Who's really ready for the difference? It's an amazing and wonderful addition to my life and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I stayed on as Design Manager (and more often than not as the finance officer) for MainSales until March of 2008 when I realized that I was not cut out to serve as a manager (I've always been better at doing the work myself than telling others how to do it).  With no ill will or hard-feelings, I took off on my own and began my freelance career at the Kris Julian studio. Here's the part where I say the future is bright and business is just amazing, but hey...this is the real world.  Being a freelancer is an unsure business with several waves in the ocean of business (some large, some small).  All-in-all, going off on my own was the best move I could have made and I'm always looking forward to what's over the next wave.

The End...

or the Beginning....

whatever...