why.... i was blessed to grow up in a very creatively inspiring environment. living in poverty with a single mom meant creating new and unusual ways to play with fewer toys.. to sing and dance to music instead of sitting in front of a tv.. to cook without recipes or many inspiring foods.. and to make art with broken pieces of handed down chalk pastels or whatever my sister and i could find outside.. we made 'candy' for our mom for holidays and although it was nothing but paper i was obsessive about getting all the details of the 'hershey bar' wrapper just right.. we carried machetes and built outdoor dream homes and created elaborate tails of our orphan lives.. as we got older we had fun bringing 'ugly ducklings' home to turn into swans with moms old make-up and thrift store clothes and have 'photo shoots'..
i am so glad to have grown up in such a way.. we were
outside a lot. we were wild and imaginative. and now, we are strong..
creative.. independent.
i truly appreciate the humble.. the simple.. the quiet.. the hush.
how.... in high school {1989-90-ish} i began beading with my best
friend any chance we had, to sell at a friends skate shop.. art school
{for college} seemed to be the natural choice but i quickly realized how
much more i enjoyed learning through creation, listening to the wind,
feeling music, and tasting experience rather than sitting in a classroom.
at
around 19yrs old i fell into a beautiful relationship with an amazing
small business in the tampa area called 'white buffalo'~ a small jewelry
shop specializing in native american jewelry and artifacts.. this very
serendipitous relationship taught me so much and after several years the
owners offered me the ability to open up my own franchise of the shop
out of state.. i chose north carolina from a happy memory of a road trip
through the state once..
in the spring of 2002 i opened my own
little 'white buffalo' in durham, nc.. i met donna that summer, she was a
barista, we became fast friends and i instantly knew i needed her at my
shop!
my brain began the conceptualization of a gorgeous
shop that enticed all of the senses with 'beautiful things for
beautiful beings' and was centered around the earthly elements- four distinctly 'elemental' areas that would be defined by color and feeling- air, fire, earth, and water.. i gave myself a '5 year goal' upon
first visiting asheville, i felt immediately that this was a place i
could put down some roots, and i visited at least once each year
allowing my affinity to grow.. one summer
day in 2006 donna and i decided to make an
'asheville plan'- we would move here, become business partners, and open
up 'elementality' by the beginning of 2007!.. sure enough january 24th
2007 elementality was born!!
now.... asheville is a very unique community
and like none-other i have lived in or visited.. the independent
artists population is thriving and definitely makes me continually up my
ante! i am inspired not just by these incredible surroundings we are so
blessed to live amongst, but by the regard with which our community
holds artisans and the focus on handcrafts.. we have only been here a
short while and are so honored to
have been chosen as one of western north carolina's 3 best jewelry
shops.. and i am honored to have been named one of the 3 best jewelry
designers as well!..
i look forward to many more years of creating and appreciate your taking the time to read a bit about us!
if you have any comments or suggestions please visit our 'comments or
contact' page we would love to hear any feedback you may have.
also,
anytime you're in the asheville area please come by the asheville mall
and check us out, you will always receive a warm smile and genuine
conversation.
