05/18/2026
I was always an artsy kid. Drawing, painting, and clay, specifically. Creating brought me joy, and giving what I made to others brought me even more.
But becoming an artist for a living? That wasn’t a clear path. Etsy, Shopify, and Instagram didn’t exist when I was choosing a college path and career. Being self-employed never even crossed my mind as an option.
All I knew was when my friend sat on the floor of my college dorm and dumped out his toolbox of metalsmithing class projects and tools, I was entranced. It blended everything I loved about collecting, sculpture, and ceramics into something people would wear and love and buy. I enrolled in a metalsmithing class the following semester and got a job working for a goldsmith (!) before that class had even wrapped.
That was 20 years ago. There are still “OMG, am I really doing this?” moments (weekly!) But I’m still here, still creating, and I don’t think this desire will ever leave me.
