Often times people ask me how I got into making jewelry. I was thinking today, as I arrived home after 3 wonderful days in the North Cascades, I wanted to share with all of you this journey.
11 years ago, I graduated from college with a degree in geology. At the time, i wasn't fond of my job options, either working for an oil company or continuing on into graduate school. So, I waited tables and worked in retail with the goal to save up enough money to travel around the world for one year. It took me a year to reach my goal and I was off into the unknown, a young woman seeking new experiences, adventure, challenging situations and hoping to see the world from a new perspective. I have always craved the unknown, and loved to travel so, this was my ultimate dream and as I departed on this escapade, I realized living my dreams is possible.
First stop, the Middle East, I spent 3 months in Israel/Palestine visiting my family and volunteering at a school for peace. I worked as a secretary and lived at the school. It was an amazing experience. I also traveled overland to Jordan and Egypt.
From there I flew to India and this is when my life changed. The moment I stepped off the plane, I knew my life would be different. I spent 6 remarkable months traveling around the subcontinent, constantly being bombarded by the challenging experiences of traveling as a woman alone in a very different land. But at the same time realizing how extremely fortunate I was (and still am) to be in that place. India is full of dichotomies, and as I observed the extreme beauty and complete sadness I became enthralled in all of it. It made my mind go where it had never gone and I realized I could never go back to conforming to the way we do things in the west. I needed to figure out a way to get back to India and continue experiencing and creating relationships, learning from the deep cultures of the many people of India and the world. So, one day, I was in a small desert town on the border of Pakistan and India. A town called, Jaisalmer, I walked into a small shop selling silver jewelry. I went in the shop to buy a ring to remind myself to continue on trying to live my dreams and making it a mission in my life... I came out with the silver ring, along with many many other pieces of jewelry with the idea that I would sell it when I got back to the states and buy another plane ticket to India. Over the next several months my plans became more refined and after traveling to Nepal and Thailand, I arrived home. In a few short weeks, I sold most of the jewelry I had bought and shortly thereafter, in 2001, i started to make jewelry.
Now, over 10 years after my first visit to India, I am making jewelry full time, studying with two master goldsmiths in S. India and still living my dreams and traveling around the world...
Etsy SALE ends August 31
Edmonds Market
Saturday August 29
9-3
downtown Edmonds, Wa
Trunk Show
Ancient Healing
Wednesday September 2
5-7
Sauk City, Wi
photo.. my bejeweled feet in a flash of unreal pink sky. The driving beach, North Kerala, at the Arabian Sea, November 2008
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