A lot of my work is rooted in childlike wonder—the kind of curiosity that made ants on a picnic interesting, river stones worth collecting, and fairy houses very important. That feeling never really left me, and now it finds its way into the things I make.

I’m a self-taught silversmith, and when I’m not traveling around North Carolina for craft markets or burning ring shaped holes into my studio carpet, I’m usually making something with my hands.

I actually started making tea-infused soy wax candles at Chad’s Chai to help afford the tools I needed to learn silversmithing. Somewhere along the way, I realized I loved both, so now I get to make both.

I’ve always loved the way certain smells can hold memories. When I first started making candles, I wanted to create that same feeling for myself new memories tied to new scents. Something I could hold onto and return to again and again, without the fear of a company discontinuing something that had become so personal to me. I wanted to share that feeling with others, too, creating scents that could become a small part of their memories, moments, and lives.

There’s something equally special about the way jewelry becomes part of us. A ring can hold a memory, become part of a daily ritual, or simply become something you reach for and fidget with without even thinking. Over time, it can feel almost inseparable from you.

I feel incredibly lucky to be the person who gets to make those little pieces of someone’s life.