For most of my adult life, I struggled with being a single mother, trying to go to school and make ends meet with my daughter. My daughter was born sick. It was an unexpected roller coaster with years in and out of hospitals, illnesses and surgeries. My daughter was suffering with intestinal failure. For years, I hit road block after road block, trying to find a career that could sustain our life style and allow me to be available for my daughter and her needs. Childcare was too expensive and she was too sick for that setting anyway. I spent a couple of years trying to go to school and have a full time job, but I couldn't get consistent childcare for a child who was always sick and needed IV care, oxygen and medications around the clock. Not to mention that I was having a hard time keeping grades up while being away for so long at hospitals with Quinn. My job and income was suffering as well. California is among the only states that will pay you to care for your sick children as long as it is out of the norm of parenting. So that's what I did. I still wanted to find something that I could do from home. I was a career driven person and when that quickly halted, I got really bored. I got a pit bull puppy. (again something that I was told I couldn't do) I raised that puppy and trained her to be the best dog she could be. I wanted her to have a really nice leather collar, but all the prices I saw were too far out of my budget. So I called around family members to see if they had anything that could help me create a collar for her. I was in luck! My Grandpa had an old leather working set that he let me use. I went to the thrift store and picked out an old belt that I thought might look good on her. And that, my friends, was the beginning of a passion that will last me the rest of my life. That first week, I could be found in my garage, discovering new ways of doing things with leather, creating my first pieces (That I still have!) and teaching myself as much as I could by trial and error. I started my business in September 2015. I can tell you right now that starting a business is TOUGH!!! Unless you are of the lucky small percentage to get a lucky break, you will climb the steepest slope. I am still climbing, but finally seeing the fruits of my labor! I'm sure there have been several people who would have quit by now. My skill grows, my products multiply and my love for the craft intensifies. I still have that lovely pit bull, who has one of the finest collars known to man and she is absolutely the sweetest dog. You can often find her under my desk while I'm leather working. My daughter has been getting better too and has grown into a thriving teenager! In many ways, leather working has given us health, happiness and hope.