I didn’t start making jewelry until I was in my late 30’s despite being a 4th generation jeweler.
Both my husband and I are self-taught and built an e-commerce jewelry business that eventually reached million-dollar success — something many creatives only dream of.
My father passed away at the same time I started making jewelry. I knew firsthand how important a piece of jewelry can be to someone morning a loss, so we started a personalized jewelry business engraving a loved one’s handwriting.
Our jewelry business was super personal to me and it definitely was cathartic connecting with others that were also mourning the loss of someone they loved.
But then everything we had built disappeared overnight.
The world I knew, the income I depended on, the identity I had worked so hard to define — gone.
I was nothing short of crushed.
Five years later after our kids left for college, I found myself walking along the Colorado River we now live on and collecting shells. (Yes! There are shells in a river – I did not know that!)
The river has become my temple. It’s where I feel most connected to the Universe and to nature. It’s here that I’ve experienced the miracle that happens when you fully surrender and become present. It’s here where I feel totally abundant. The energy of the river’s current flows through me and I feel alive, at ease, and joyful. It’s here where my creativity runs wild and I am free to be me.
I realized that these shells — covered in algae or minerals and something I would normally never even pick up or touch — could become beautiful again with a little care and attention. And in that moment, something clicked:
Beauty isn’t only in what’s whole or obvious.
It’s in what survives, what’s reshaped, and what’s chosen again.
From this…
…to this!
From my intuitive walks in the river, A Crafty Collective was born — a community rooted in creativity, connection, and meaning. We don’t just make crafts, we share our stories — and invite women to pause, create, and reconnect with themselves and others in the process.
It wasn’t until recently that I connected my father to my new business venture. His creative passion was tying flies and I have many memories of him teaching me to fly fish while wading in various rivers.
This time, I’m not building a community from loss, I’m building one from legacy.
I welcome you to join A Crafty Collective where we will create beautiful things and craft our way to connection and deeper meaning in our season of life.
