Etsy

My stepdaughter taught me how to make a pair of earrings while recovering from the first time I got sick. I was weak, in pain and unable to work at the time and going stir crazy just watching TV in the recliner. Sifting through her beads and looking at all the colors really did brighten my mood; so naturally necklaces and bracelets followed. I gave most of my creations to my mom and she wore them proudly! Then came requests from other family members & friends and with their encouragement I started selling my jewelry at private parties and craft shows with surprising success.

My education & field of work is in horticulture and I currently manage a successful garden center & before that I was the grounds manager at a zoo & botanical garden. 14 years ago I was looking for a purposeful career that offers creativity and happiness working with plants and people who want to be around them. People don’t buy plants because they have too, they choose them because they evoke emotion or sensory stimulation, or for the benefit of the environment and wildlife or they are useful or simply because flowers are damn pretty to look at. This is a happy & positive group of people that surround me and are the same type of people who love handmade things.

Why do I tell you all of this? Because as my illness progresses (a transplant is in my future) I am gravitating to other means of creativity and color that will keep my spirit joyful but is not as physically demanding. I have taken on many new crafts and my husband and teenager are along for the ride making for happy times creating together.

We have so many non-jewelry items that are not listed; I find the entire process of photography, editing, listing, marketing, etc. very daunting but we will keep plugging away and hopefully let the world see all of the fun things we make as a family.

So that is my story on how & why I started crafting. I know the day will come when I will not be able to work full-time, but I hope creating will continue to bring me joy and maybe one day pay the bills!

Thanks for taking the time to listen and enjoy our shop!
Christa