However, it wasn’t always this way. When I started my business in 2004, I really didn’t know what I was doing. But I knew deep in my bones that creating a business where I could make something beautiful with my own hands was something I had to do! Sound familiar?

If you ask me what’s been the biggest factor in my business’s success, I’d say it’s the supportive, close-knit group of peers who had my back when I needed it most. I worked hard, for sure, but their encouragement was the lifeline that kept me going through tough times.

In talking with jewelry artists over the years I noticed a common thread of feeling isolated and a deep yearning for community within our craft. This is why I started the Slowmade Podcast and the Slowmade Collective — to rekindle that authentic sense of community and support that I believe is essential to our artistic journey.