Telegram · @chiefkitten · since 2018

Somethinguselessи слава богу

My name is Katya, and a lot of stuff in my life happens out of habit and for no clear reason. So I came up with a year of pointless hobbies for myself. Once a month I will pick an activity-with-no-big-practical-point, do it, and tell you how it goes here

— 3 June 2018, post #1

Calligraphy · Ceramics
Plasticine · 3D printing
Moscow → Buenos Aires → 37 countries
628 posts in 8 years
01

A Year of Pointless Hobbies

One new pursuit with no practical point every month. The rules were set in June 2018.
June
calligraphy
the favourite — the one that stuck for good
July
storytelling
the biggest flop of a month, but not for nothing
August
dancing what I can't dance
fun, spirited and awkward
September
lookout points
guess where the photo's from
October
museums
the thing you've long wanted but somehow never do
November
spinning poi
December
waiting for New Year
the most important month
January
sculpting
plasticine is so tactile, and ceramics are just out of this world
February
sculpting again
pottery takes ages, and the rules are made to be broken
March
googly eyes
sticking them everywhere 👀
April
singing
hobbies sprout into the future
May
a new era of myself
the year ended a little early

Calligraphy stuck. Eight years on, it's printing rings on a 3D printer.

02

Work

Everything here was made by her own hands. Shot on a phone, as-is, with no studio lighting.
Kitty Potter — kawaii illustration · «drew in a week what I couldn't have put together before»
Kitty Potter
kawaii illustration · «drew in a week what I couldn't have put together before»
2022
Support Vector Machines — lettering, stickers · brush and marker
Support Vector Machines
lettering, stickers · brush and marker
2021
Space Barricades Itself with a Wardrobe — comic · «not very successfully»
Space Barricades Itself with a Wardrobe
comic · «not very successfully»
2022
Dots · dots · dots — hand-lettered sketchbook page
Dots · dots · dots
hand-lettered sketchbook page
2021
Katya — calligraphy, marker · the first month's result
Katya
calligraphy, marker · the first month's result
2018
The Absinthe Drinker — plasticine after Pablo Picasso
The Absinthe Drinker
plasticine after Pablo Picasso
2019
Kalimba — googly eyes on a shop-bought kalimba · «you can do things together»
Kalimba
googly eyes on a shop-bought kalimba · «you can do things together»
2026
The Son of Man — plasticine after René Magritte
The Son of Man
plasticine after René Magritte
2019
5.06.2018 — marker lettering · from YouTube tutorials
5.06.2018
marker lettering · from YouTube tutorials
2018
03

Blog

Posts from the channel, in full and word-for-word — in the original Russian. Hobbies, moving to Argentina, motherhood, the printer.
04.04.2026
The Robot Finger
First 3D printing milestone - printed a robo-finger, I can drink coffee!! Thinking about how to fit a little motor and a sensor in there so it can run…
3d
09.03.2026
The Ancient She-Wolf
Living through yet another separation with my toddler, and it's a storm My favorite part of motherhood - feeling these ancient instinctive programs ri…
motherhood
07.03.2026
Chicken Posho Aureliano Buendía
I feel like when I repeat some word for the little ones in three languages, they think it’s a double-triple name. I mean, that’s what every Latino is …
languages
03.03.2026
A Pot, a Printer, and Motivation
Technology, AI, I want to use all of this in education — that's what I once wished for. You do remember that I manifest wondrously ✨ Came true! Taught…
3d
01.03.2026
The First Ring Prototype
News from the world of 3d jewelry: 1) I printed out the first ring prototype, jumping for joy 2) Nanobanana refuses to generate a second version😱😱😱 Aa…
3d
01.02.2026
A 3D-Printer Wishlist
Waiting to meet my 3d printer and putting together a wishlist. So far I've got two items: - a coffee holder for the stroller, with a gyroscope - get b…
3d
12.12.2023
A Million Views in December
December challenge: hit 1M views on youtube. Here's what I figured out in the first week of the experiment😎 As you know, making money off content for …
experiment
02.10.2023
Everything I Knew About Baby Food, Turned Upside Down
my whole idea of baby food just got flipped upside down over here. in my imaginary picture of the world it always went like this: somewhere around six…
motherhood
29.09.2023
A Road-Trip Checklist for Travelling with a Baby
A checklist for road trips with a baby. My little one and I have driven a whole lot of kilometers, seen glaciers, volcanoes, whales, and even got stuc…
motherhood
29.08.2023
From Zero to Six Months
🐣On raising kids 🐣 Part 1, from zero to 6 months, summing up my own experience. What matters right now? 0. All kids are different, all families are di…
motherhood
07.07.2023
Tranquila and Mañana
Tranquila and mañana: how time feels in Argentina. This morning I showed up for a doctor's appointment at the wrong address — and only realized it at …
relocation
20.06.2023
Healthcare in Argentina
Healthcare in Argentina Argentina has great healthcare, and it's available to everyone (even tourists) — both paid and free. Let me tell you about the…
relocation
16.06.2023
On Money in Argentina
About money in Argentina The money thing here is pretty funny, watch my hands. 💰Argentina's national currency is the peso, exchange rate to the dollar…
relocation
11.06.2023
Why Everyone Should Think About Argentina
Why should everyone be thinking about Argentina in 2023? I fall more in love with Argentina every single day, so buckle up and get ready to listen. Ma…
relocation
02.06.2023
Making the Immersion Method Work
How do you make the language-immersion method actually work? Once upon a time I studied in Italy, and over six months the only thing that managed to f…
languages
18.01.2023
First Book in a Foreign Language
How do you pick your first book in a foreign language? Back when I was learning German, my prof at university recommended this method: you take a book…
languages
28.11.2021
Etiquette for Telegram Bots
What I figured out about etiquette for telegram bots I wrote my first telegram bot and caught all sorts of tiny nuances about how these hunks of metal…
code
21.07.2021
Positive Reinforcement and Heart-Eyes
About positive reinforcement, motivation, and heart-eyes. The first time I showed up to learn to dance in sky-high heels, Lyosha, the teacher, did a c…
learning
10.07.2021
A Guide to Cooking with Rhubarb
A guide to rhubarb food I'm a big fan of rhubarb and of every possible food made from it. Right now a level-up is happening in my universe: I'm baking…
life
19.11.2020
Twelve Months, Twelve Pursuits
Once upon a time this blog started with a "year of useless hobbies": I was bored and everything felt the same, so I came up with the idea of trying so…
recap
03.02.2019
An Aside About Props
While props for next month are flying my way from Joom and my pottery course is slowly winding down, I'll write some off-topic posts. For instance, ab…
process
27.01.2019
Ten Half-Magic Passes of the Hands
On the day I was supposed to sit down at the potter's wheel for the first time, half the studio wished me luck, which surprised me, but it soon became…
pottery
02.01.2019
In January, I Sculpt
I can't take the New Year season of inflated expectations and I'm moping, but New Year's one thing and the hobby pick is - on schedule. In January I'm…
sculpting
03.06.2018
A Year of Pointless Hobbies
Hi! My name is Katya, and an awful lot of things in my life happen out of habit and for no clear reason. So I came up with a year of pointless hobbies…
manifesto
04

About

Phystech, analytics, calligraphy, the potter's wheel, Argentina, two kids and a 3D printer — roughly in that order.

What she does

Broad-nib and brush calligraphy. Wheel-thrown ceramics. Plasticine scenes after famous paintings. Kawaii illustration. Since 2026, 3D printing: a robot finger that can hold a coffee, and plans to print a dress.

Where she lives

Left Moscow, gave birth in Argentina and Brazil, on the road for a third year: 37 countries, 151 weeks of travelling with the kids. She writes about tranquila and mañana, local healthcare, the peso rate, and how a toddler is picking up a fourth language.

What she's up to now

“Breastfeeding & vibecoding”: worldschooling, AI for parents and reels about nomadic motherhood. The year of pointless hobbies, it seems, never actually ended.

Contact

Telegram @chiefkitten
X @chiefkittenme
Instagram @ktgrrrd