outsideeverywhere

When I was trying to come up with a name for my shop I spent some time thinking about where I found inspiration. As I sat on my front porch and looked around, I was having a hard time trying to narrow it down. I thought to myself, “I find inspiration in everything, outside, and everywhere”. And so my shop’s name was born. I am endlessly amazed by the natural world. I have loved animals for as long as i can remember (my top three are cats, opossums, and raccoons in case you were wondering), so it only seemed natural for me to make animal figurines. It’s the tiny details that really get me - have you ever noticed the tufts of fur on a black bear’s feet? Or the delicate space under a cat’s nose? These are the kinds of things that get me excited.

Creating things has been a part of my life since I was a young girl. I’ve explored many craft mediums, but woodworking is the one that spoke to my heart. Not long after my son was born I began thinking about the kinds of things I wanted in his environment. I decided that I wanted him to have mostly natural toys. I had never worked with wood before, but I went out and bought a scroll saw and, through lots of trial and error, I taught myself how to make animal figurines. I keep the shapes of each animal true to nature, while still having the simplicity that I love. The tiny details are my favorite part. Slight changes to the curve of an animal’s face can completely change the personality of the figurine. I’m quite obsessive about the texture of my toys. I take several steps to make sure they are as smooth as possible. I’ve done so much research and testing into my paints and polish to make sure that they are safe for kids. It is also incredibly important to me that I only use materials that contain no animal ingredients and aren’t tested on animals. I make my wood polish myself so that I know exactly what goes into it (it’s just organic, unrefined jojoba oil and organic plant wax).

I love that I can hold a piece of rough wood in my hands and transform it into a beautiful, smooth toy. There is something so special about the simplicity of wooden toys and watching children create wildly imaginative stories with them. They have this warmth and connection to nature that you just can’t get from a piece of plastic. I make each of my animal figurines with a lot of love and a little bit of magic. I hope you can feel it!