BOHEMIAN BEGINNINGS OF MONDAY
2016. It all began on a breezy hot summer night. Ive been making jewelry for a few years already and finished up my apprenticeship with a world renowned filigree master, Majdi, from Syria. He made the most beautiful gold scabbards for swords. All of my pieces in the beginning were in the ancient art of filigree
I would spend nights working at my bench, with a lamp, a candle, and some good old music. My kids were babies and summers were magical because they would stay up all night and play and I would work at my bench. We lived in an old industrial loft, across the street from a meat factory, it was old and beautiful. Money was scarce. I was a young single mom and to get through the days I would dream of running away somewhere beautiful. Somewhere that would give me freedom to not work like a slave all day. Somewhere where my babies can run barefoot amongst animals. I sold some of my things, found an old rv one day and decided to travel and live in it every summer, all summer. Sometimes we would hit the road with only a few hundred dollars, being broke never stopped me from chasing my dreams.
To go out into the unknown, to find magical treasures by the roadside in sleepy dusty towns. I was determined to find the most beautiful turquoise stones and ancient beads, and I would have the whole winter to give them new lives by making beautiful jewelry. I mostly worked with turquoise then, and some opals when I could find them. Scraps of silver were the only metal I could afford. Sometimes Id sell some of my things, so I could buy more silver. I always knew I wanted my jewelry to be magical, to sing songs of past lives.
Every bead and stone I ever worked with, I picked with my hands from a special person or place I visited driving in that rv. Sometimes we would stay in yurts, teepees and places that grow wild and sing of freedom. For me it was always about freedom, about purity, about the earth. About living a simple but colorful life filled with hardship and beauty at the same time. I want to share those bohemian stories of wanderlust of my life, through the jewelry that I make, the photos I take, the things I collect.
Our magical yurt on a mountain where only cattle graze at times. You won’t run into a soul here and the nighttime stars are amazing.
Some of the first filigree earrings I made with beautiful green turquoise stones.
The sleepy roadside towns that look forgotten but are filled with life, hard work, goodness, respect for thy neighbor. Ive always been good to people. And people in these parts were always good to me. We lived with a Mormon family for awhile in their spare bedroom when I was out of money. We’ve been fed by people in small roadside motels. I felt more included in these dusty towns, than in big cities where I had people that called themselves my friends. I felt like I was somebody here.
Ive always wanted a little store just like this one. So I can pack it full with hand collected items across time. These are always my favorite stops. The people always honest and always treat me well.
Come get your “museum quality” rocks here.
I love rocks!!!!!!!! Roadside rocks especially.
Home of the HO made pies. Yes pretty please and thank you. I love old diners, no better feeling than a scalding hot cup of coffee spilling over the edges of a yellowed mug at an old diner. After driving all day, it tastes like such a luxury.
Goodness what a beaut. Can you imagine me selling pails of apples out of the back freshly collected from my orchard?
My little wild angel that was raised on the road.
The wild pack.
Some pieces from my very first collection. Each little wire I put in one by one on long sleepless nights. And when we lived with a Navajo family in their teepee for awhile. It was pure magic.
Im hoping to regularly write blogs like this and add to my photo diary, until I can get approved for ad content, I’ll only be doing it for donations. If you enjoyed the photos or writings, if it brought you any joy or purpose please donate even the smallest bit or purchase something from my shop just to let me know that I should keep doing it. If it serves no purpose to anybody, then I won’t because we all know there is too much useless content in the world already. Thank you for reading and looking.