American Made Finalist

I was finishing up lunch with my husband at our favorite Indian buffet when I got the email informing me I was a finalist for the 2015 Martha Stewart American Made Awards. I read the email several times through before the words truly sunk in. Once they did, I got lightheaded and my hands started to shake. I never expected my delicious chicken makhani to come with a side of such incredible news.

Thousands of talented makers are in the pool of nominees each year, and just small percentage make it this far. The program puts the spotlight on emerging makers, those who have dedicated their lives to their craft, and are striving to succeed as creative entrepreneurs. It’s a huge honor to be a finalist in the Style / Jewlery category this year, regardless of what happens next. Being recognized in a national competition of this caliber is a pretty big deal for a little business like mine. These things don’t happen everyday!

Because of my big big news, I was lucky enough to be featured on Studio 62 with Jamarcus Gaston recently, and share about my media experience in a blog feature with the ever-so-informative Academy of Handmade. I was also able to share my story on local talk show Your Carolina. 

Martha Stewart and her panel of 16 judges have gotten me this far, but the rest is entirely up to voters like you. Would you please take a moment to send some votes my way? We set up an easy-to-remember sub domain that takes you directly to my nomination: www.vote.onceagainsam.com and once you create a login on the Martha Stewart American Made page, you’ll be able to vote up to 6 times per day until October 19th. Winning something like this would change my business forever, in so many fantastic ways.

Thanks a million!

A Week at The Folk School

Learning a new craft is irresistible to me. I suppose that’s how I wound up with such a long list of interests, and an even longer list of things I want to learn in the future (which ranges from loom weaving to learning to ride a unicycle). Earlier this month, I did something way out of my comfort zone, and took time off to learn something I knew nothing about. It wasn’t really a vacation, more like an intense work week that left my hands stained and sore, but I’m so glad I didn’t talk myself out of it. I had a pile of reasons to cancel my art camp plans, but the part about “it might be really cool” was what got my butt to Brasstown, NC.

I chose to take a jewelry metalworking course at the John C. Campbell Folk School, a place full of history, simplicity, music from another era, misty mornings, and practically no cell reception. This is the kind of place where you can learn blacksmithing one week, and traditional basket making the next. During the week of my attendance, there were about a dozen other classes occurring simultaneously. My time was spent in an area called “Studio Row” in a building dedicated to jewelry & metals. I’m still blown away by everything I learned in such a short time, but now I feel pressure (the good kind) to continue to take classes whenever I can, because I have an awful lot of things to learn, and an uncertain number of years left to learn them.

I’m already comfortable designing and making jewelry, it’s part of how I earn a living, but working with metal was 100% new to me, so it was a humbling experience to start from scratch, not knowing what would work and what wouldn’t. The instructor, Cindy Moore of www.cooltoolchick.com was extremely knowledgeable and patient, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the medium.

In just a few day’s time, my class of 8 got to try out embossing metals on the rolling mill, torch enameling, forging, soldering, the hydraulic press, cold connections (like rivets), plus cleaning & finishing techniques. We were permitted to focus on our own projects after general instruction, so I was able to skip things like wire working and making beads out of old coins in exchange for more time with the torch annealing and shaping copper, or experimenting with texturing enamel (my personal favorites, out of everything we learned). The curriculum was fairly open, which was perfect since everyone had different interests. I was thrilled to have the option for additional studio time in the evenings after dinner, which always went by way too quickly. That’s how you know you’re having fun - when having to eat or sleep becomes a major bummer because you don’t want to stop working!!

All in all, I made 32 pieces of jewelry. Some aren’t very good. Some I’m extremely attached to, and would love to add to my jewelry line in the future. I’m already making plans to invest in some of the equipment so I can continue material explorations in my own studio with my new found love of metals. I will always work in leather, wood, and wool, but I think metal is the missing element in my work, and I’m thankful to have had the chance to dabble in it just long enough to know I need to dabble more soon.

Turning 10

On June 18th, 2005, Etsy began. So did my marriage. 

I like sharing this happy day in history. Getting married changed my life, and so did Etsy. That probably sounds weird, it's just a website, right? To me, and billions of others, it's a lot more than just a website.

If it wasn't for Etsy, I never would have started my handmade business Once Again Sam. They made it easy for people like me with creativity and ideas, but no business background, to get started and eventually succeed. I literally learned something new every day thanks to their mission to educate and help you help yourself and connect with others. After a few years selling handmade jewelry and fiber art, I now consider being a Maker to be my full time job. Being a wife is my other full time job. They both take work, they're both incredibly rewarding, and they both define who I am. 

Ten years as a wife has shown me a pretty good glimpse of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows life has to offer. We've been through some really awful stuff together, but we've also laughed so hard we've cried, we've both grown in so many ways, but still have SO much to learn. Thankful for these 10 years, and all that's to come.