Finding my footing—and my pliers—after the chaos
After nearly six months of studio silence, I finally did it: I sat down, turned on my bench light, and started creating again.
It’s been a long, strange stretch. If you’ve been following my journey, you probably noticed things went a little quiet after the Renaissance Faire last October. The fair itself was incredible—exhausting, thrilling, and creatively fulfilling in all the best ways—but I think I underestimated just how much it took out of me. I was creating constantly for nearly eight months—every free second between jobs, on breaks, and into late nights. It's amazing to know that I can do that, but I'm glad I’m not doing it again this year.
As a side note, can I just say my mom is a freaking miracle? Honestly, so are my husband and our good friend Abby. Without those three, the fair wouldn’t have been possible—especially with my work schedule. My mom even drove 10 hours every week, to be at the booth for me. Like I said, a miracle, and I'm one lucky daughter.
We made the decision to try to buy a house in early August. We figured we had some time—but the process went from “let’s try” to “we’re closing” in what felt like a blink. Between interviews, long-distance drives, packing, the fair, and moving, it was all... a lot. And once we landed in our new place, we hit the ground running with new jobs, family health challenges, and a house full of unopened boxes. Creativity got pushed to the back burner—and then completely off the stove.
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The Studio Shuffle (a saga in three acts)
I was determined to build a studio space I could thrive in. So I built one. Then rearranged it. Then rearranged it again.
First layout: looked cute, felt wrong. Second layout: felt better- until I realized half my tools were blocked off and hard to access. And if you all didn't know this, I'm lazy. Which means if things aren't in arms reach, it's too far away to get. Especially if it's heavy. Third layout? I think we’re finally there! Thank goodness.
It’s a little chaotic, a little cobbled together, but it works. I can swivel between workstations like a boss —who’s absolutely winging it— but hey, I can actually reach my tools, and for the first time in a while, I’m creating consistently. Not because I have to, but because I want to.
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Picking Up the Pieces (Literally)
Work at my bench has been a lot of picking things up, putting them down, switching to something else, doing a little work here and there, and setting it all down again. I was finally making progress on multiple pieces—only for the soldering gods to claim them by fire. I was soldering bails on six nearly finished pieces when every single one melted into a silver lump. Yaay. After a long break, maybe it was to be expected—but that didn’t make it any less frustrating. And I really hate remaking things.
So I walked away for a bit. Okay, more than a bit. I didn’t even want to look at my bench.
Eventually I picked up some wire. Coiling wire doesn’t need a plan—at least not at first. I chose a stone pretty much at random, maybe thinking I’d gift the piece to someone. It turned out it wasn't their style, but they don’t even know it was originally for them anyway-- *shh*
It came with me to work, back home again, and somehow, it got finished. That one piece reopened the door. Then came another. And another. Then I soldered on earring posts to some cutouts I meant to finish last year —and they survived! No melting!
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Back to My Roots
Right now, I’m just making what feels good. Some wire-wrapped pendants. A few metal pieces. Tiny earrings that have been hanging out in a drawer since 2023. There's no big plan, no pressure for a cohesive launch. Just the joy of creating something with my hands again.
I’ve never been great at sticking to collections anyway, and you know what? That’s fine. As long as I’m creating, it counts.
The two wraps I finished are already up on the website (go me!), and the earrings will be listed in the next few days.
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Nature is Calling (Sort Of)
Since moving, I’ve only made it to the lake a handful of times, but I see it every day on my drive home—and that view is amazing. I thought moving up here would mean more local hiking options than New Hampshire, but most of the free trails are at least 30 minutes away. Still, I’m surrounded by mountains, trees, and that big beautiful lake. It’s doing a lot for my spirit.
You can definitely expect to see some of that inspiration show up in my future pieces—mountains, leaves, acorns, pinecones… as soon as I figure out how I want to do them.
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Stay in the Loop
If you want to keep up with what I’m working on (and get first dibs on new pieces), here’s how:
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Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for updates and behind-the-scenes peeks.
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Join my email list to be the first to know about restocks, customs, and special launches.
I probably won’t send an email every time I add something to the shop, (unless it's a bigger release), but I will be posting on social media when new items go live.
Thanks for being here while I get back into the rhythm. It feels good to be back at the bench—for real this time. Hopefully for good.