Meet The Maker

Not to sound too Texan, but Howdy Y’all! Welcome to my online jewelry haven. So you wanna know a bit about me, do you? 

Let’s start with how I got into smithing and how I love my job. 

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In 2017 I started selling vintage turquoise jewelry. Mainly navajo and zuni made. It was honestly just a side hustle because at the time I also worked at the National Cutting Horse Association in Fort Worth. I had graduated from Oklahoma State University (GO POKES!) in 2016 and I was under this illusion that using your degree was like, what you had to do after college. Alas, I joined the rest of the degenerates that went to college, drank too much beer, graduated, and then left their degree to collect dust in a fancy frame in the closet.

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As time went on, I realized I didn’t want the jewelry business to be a side gig anymore. I wanted to travel full-time to pick and flip. I want to be my own boss and work from home or on the road. I quit my Fort Worth job in 2018 and just focused on my jewelry business while also freelance writing for a few different publications. It wasn’t paying what my main job had paid, but it was making me happy which was priceless.

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I thought I’d have gotten bored of it by now if I’m being honest. But by 2019 I was ready for a new challenge. I decided to dabble in smithing, just to get a feel for it. I wanted to understand the time and work that went into the creations I was selling. I learned, but decided that it probably wasn’t for me. I didn’t invest much into tools and materials.

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Then of course Covid came along and traveling to find vintage jewelry was no longer an option, so then I didn’t have a choice. It was either order the stuff I needed and get to work or get real use to eating spaghettios 5 nights a week. I was panicking HARD because yes, I learned how to smith, but I sucked at it and hadn’t spent the time practicing like I should. But, when you don’t have much of a choice, holding your nose, diving in and hoping for the best is sometimes what you gotta do.

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I was also 20 weeks pregnant at the time.

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Now, smithing is my main gig and the vintage jewelry is still the side hustle. Funny how things work out, isn’t it? I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to a real marketing job or use my degree again, but I do know that this job has allowed me to run a one-woman show while being able to stay home with my son. I don’t have to miss anything and I wouldn’t want to.

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Dammit, I’m grateful for how things work out sometimes, weird and wild as it can be. Kick off your shoes and stay awhile. Shop around, tell a friend, and email us! We would love to hear from you.