I (Amy) have always enjoyed making things with my hands. As a child, my mom taught me to sew (bless her for her patience, Lord), and do other craft projects. I was not a model student, as I always had my own ideas about how to make things better, or how to change the designs. When a project wasn’t as beautiful as I had hoped, or the design looked “off” somehow, I would keep tweaking it until I was satisfied that it was the best that I could make it.

Over the years that same attitude has served me well as I taught myself to crochet, quilt, knit, make greeting cards, mold beeswax candles, and a variety of other crafts. I love to take an idea that the Lord gives me, or one I see that someone else has designed, and make it my own. I read a lot and study patterns and methods that others use to see how to produce the best items that I can.

I derive great satisfaction from taking something that appears useless to others and refashioning it into something useful as well as beautiful. Old sheets and cotton clothes are rug material. File folders become card bases. Old book pages and miscellaneous bling add character to cards. Forgotten beeswax blocks sitting in my in-laws’ barn glow with new life as candles.

Pete shares this attitude of adding value, and fashions wood that others have no use for into beautiful plates and bowls. He has always loved the beauty of natural wood and the features that emerge when he turns out a new piece. The natural grain, spalting, birds’ eyes, rays, and bark all add to the beauty of his pieces.

Over the years we accumulated quite a stash of our creations, and decided to find a market for them. We dabbled in crafts shows and local vendor events, but didn’t like the time and inventory commitment that they required.

When we found Etsy, we knew it was the best venue for us. We opened our shop when our older children were also creating craft items and could help us in the listing and shipping of items. Then life got very busy as the Lord sent us another child, Pete got his Master’s Degree, and some of our older ones got married. During this time we let the shop sit vacant for a while, but we could not stop creating (of course). Life has settled down again and our inventory is replenished, so we are re-opening our shop!

We are happy to be back in business, and with the addition of our amazing friend Rachel as our marketing director, we are in our sweet spot. We get to spend our time designing and creating, and Rachel handles the sales for us. Best of all, YOU get beautiful, well-made items for yourself or for unique gifts. It’s a win-win-win!