Lifetime maker, full-time creative entrepreneur.
I’ve been making and selling things since I was a very little kid, so becoming a creative entrepreneur was less of a career choice and more of a lifelong calling. It all started with tiny Beanie Baby necklaces, and it came full circle when I became a full-time metalsmith in my 20s, creating kiln-fired, stamped jewelry that I exhibited at art shows and stocked in boutiques across the United States.
Over the years, my creativity began pulling me toward the intersection of art, design, and technology. In 2020, I took that leap and brought a CO₂ laser cutter into my studio. It completely changed what I could create. I could take an idea from a rough sketch or paper prototype and turn it into a precisely cut, dimensional object, with all the tiny details and personality that make a handmade piece feel special.
Today, I design and make original laser-cut and engraved wood gifts and keepsakes from my studio in Franklin, Tennessee. Every design begins with me, not a stock graphic or commercial template. I sketch ideas, experiment with shapes and proportions using paper and cardstock prototypes, refine the design digitally, and then use my CO₂ laser to precisely cut and engrave the individual components from real Baltic Birch wood.
From there, the laser is only the beginning. I personally hand-finish, paint, engrave, assemble, and inspect every piece. Many of my designs are made from multiple individually crafted components layered together to create real depth and dimension rather than a flat printed image. I love the combination of digital precision and hands-on craftsmanship. The laser can create incredibly intricate details, while my hands add the painted details, finishing touches, assembly, and personality that make each piece feel handmade.
One of my favorite examples is my personalized gingerbread ornament collection. Each tiny cookie, baking sheet, rolling pin, oven mitt, gingerbread figure, and decorative element is individually designed and fabricated in my studio. Families and their pets are engraved one at a time and arranged into a custom little baking sheet scene. I even created a playful engraving font based on my own handwriting, so the names have a look that's unique to my shop.
I care just as much about the materials as I do the design. I use archival-quality Baltic Birch wood rather than MDF, along with non-toxic paints and durable finishes chosen with long-term display in mind. My goal isn't to make something that feels disposable or mass-produced. It's to create the kind of personalized keepsake that can become part of a family's traditions for years to come.
I've also always believed that the experience of receiving something handmade should be part of the artwork. I do my own product photography, design my own packaging, and put a lot of thought into the unboxing experience. I want the moment someone opens their package to feel just as charming and special as the moment they hang their new keepsake in their home.
Since opening my laser-cutting studio, I've had the joy of shipping my handmade creations to customers all over the world, including an order that made its way directly to the CEO of Etsy!
After a lifetime in Atlanta, my husband and I moved to the historic Main Street of downtown Franklin, Tennessee in 2021 with our Red Standard Poodle, Ophelia. These days, our little studio is where a lifetime of making, illustration, digital design, laser fabrication, painting, engraving, and good old-fashioned handcraft all come together, while listening to LOTS of Christmas movies!!
I make things because I genuinely love the process, from the very first paper sketch to the finished piece arriving in someone's hands. And the best part is knowing that something I dreamed up and made in my tiny Franklin studio might eventually become part of someone else's story, celebration, or family tradition.
