Living has always been about creating for me…I was painting, crafting, sewing and cooking (bread mind you) in elementary school and the creative expression has never stopped…maybe on hold for seasons but always there to center and ground me back to myself.
When I was 12, Great Aunt Margret died and Whoa Nelly I was allowed to pick thru all of her vintage goodies… vintage hat boxes, jewelry, linens and general cool stuff was all mine! To this day I still have many of the items I rescued from her house.
So combining and creating from handmade and vintage was just a natural creative progression. Original recycling and better yet upcycling (creating a new use for found objects) before I knew it was trendy!
When I was 22 my parents helped me open a little brick and mortar shop selling vintage style teddy bears and porcelain dolls.
I eventually expanded down the street to a larger storefront, ditching the bears and dolls and opening a 3 story vintage/antique store for 10 years.
The hustle of city life and 3 little boys and a dream of a simpler life convinced us to sell the antique store and our house and move to the country. We bought a small 10 acre hobby farm.
Always a bit of a tomboy (hence the name…Farmgirl Chic, as in I’ll muck the stall but my hair has to be done) I jumped in head first with being a farmgirl! I initially brought home 7 of the craziest looking angora goats, they produce mohair, but look like sheep with curly hair! I learned to spin my own yarn and process the fiber. Which led to several different breeds of sheep along with the angora goats. Creating with wool and mohair became a passion.
In March of 2007 I opened my Etsy shop and sold mostly dyed and processed mohair and wool.
In 2011 my life changed and the farm was sold after a divorce. As you can imagine it was a difficult season of my life, as I went back to work, my creative endeavors took a back seat. I ran the Etsy shop until I put it on “vacation” in 2015.
Slowly but surely I have been working my way back to my creative life. I started doing some craft fairs and became involved with a monthly vintage and handmade marketplace where I rented a room in a really neat old house. What I loved most about this type of venue was that I could showcase my handmade and vintage items together! While making sure that my work and found items were staged in new and inspiring ways each month.
Meanwhile I moved out of state and bought a fixer upper with a two story summer kitchen in the backyard! Whoo Hoo…art studio in the making with wooden beams and weathered tin…
So am finally in a place where I can live, work and create in a happy and inspiring place. So be sure and stop by to see what I have popping up each month in a vintage handmade upcycled marketplace type of style! No set hours, no long lines or crowds…
Happy to answer questions and take custom orders…just convo me and ask!