ABOUT

Hi y'all !! if you stumbled onto this page I'm assuming it's because you're curious about the artist behind the things, so hiiiiii! It's me, my name is Emily and I make the things! I don't LOVE talking about myself but I know that's why you're here so I'll do my best to share a little preview into my artist mind and how I ended up right here writing this weird little ?? auto-biography ?? 

I guess if I had to I would classify myself as a mixed media/experimental artist. Most of my "formal/technical" (lol) training and education was focused around painting, and painting has always and will always be my most favorite passion.

Back in 2018 I made the decision to take a step back from painting for profit. Turning my passion and love for painting into a full time gig and having to compromise the joy it once brought me for financial gain was taking a huge toll on my mental health and my ability to create freely.  I wanted to find new ways to be creative, to use my hands, experiment, and make things, but knowing that my intention behind every painting was to turn around and sell it really just stole a lot of the love out the process for me. Painting has and always will be so personal, each painting felt like a extension of myself and to this day I think I've kept so much of my own artwork for myself than I ever sold. I came to understand that you can love something, and it can be just that, a lot of love. It doesn't always need to be a career. I can be a painter, an artist, a creator, and they can all mean something different, look different, and serve different purposes in my life. So, I took a step back and let myself play around with new and old materials, at the same time I was taking this painting hiatus I was noticing that I really couldn't ever find any jewelry that fit with how I wanted to express myself.

I think that's been a common theme in my own life, not feeling like I fit in anywhere, and by extension not feeling like any brand could really supply me with the accessories, clothes or items I could see in my own mind. It was so frustrating to feel like the ways I wanted to externally express myself weren't anywhere to be found and that fed into my that uncomfy feeling of not being understood (feelings that I think we all struggle with from time to time) When I describe this feeling I use the term "othered", it's the best way to describe how I felt.

Like so many people I've always felt different, and I know that might sound corny to some folks out there, but to those who know exactly what I'm talking about. It's really real. You're different and you don't quite know why and you can't exactly define what it is, but it's always there. I've always felt that. So keeping on brand with being different I started making jewelry and other items for myself, It was definitely a process. More than anything I wanted to make myself what I couldn't find elsewhere, and I really didn't have any intention of selling anything I made. I just wanted to have fun, I wanted items that were special and unique to me. I wanted something that I could treasure that made me feel special and help me express myself. I really had no idea what I doing, it was all just fun and experimentation. I posted a few pictures of what I was making on Instagram, I gifted a few pieces to friends, I wore all my creations out in the world as often as I could, and everything just took off from there. It sounds easy... I promise it wasn't. There was a lot of fear and resistance between rainbows and glitter and once I realized I was running a business there were so many new obstacles and learning lessons to overcome. That's a whole different story.

Regardless of everything between then and now I can look back from this moment and see so clearly that somewhere in an attempt to help myself feel more comfortable with who I wanted to be I was able to create something that inspired others to be more comfortable with themselves as well. It feels surreal to be able to say that, and some days I have no idea how the heck I did it, but I know it's true and it's happening because I can feel it.

I'm so grateful to be here, making wearable art, and living this life. I could go on and on about why I love to make these pieces but what I really want you to know (if you're still even reading this lol) that there's no such thing as "too much" and you deserve to be exactly who you want to be and show up however feels the most genuine for you. I think a lot about how I wish I could send a little note to my younger self and tell her that it's okay to be different and it's even more okay to be weird. 
Life can be scary, there is so much to be afraid of, and so many things in life try to hold us back from authenticity and keep us small. More than anything else, I hope you're never afraid to be yourself.