When my son was born I knew I wanted to raise him in a consciously healthy environment. I was, however, daunted by the cost of obtaining nontoxic clothing and toys. Luckily I knew a trick or two with the sewing machine and was able to make most of his clothing for the first few years from organic fabric. As soon as he began teething I used some scraps from those projects to whip up a bear for him to chew on. I quickly began getting requests from friends with their own teething children for one of those bears, so I redesigned them and began making them for sale.
I began making books in 2014 as a way to connect with my mother who had recently passed away very suddenly. She, also, was an artist, and very often we became interested in the same new projects simultaneously, without consulting each other. It was always fun to have the conversation “…so I had this idea…”, “I’m doing the SAME thing!!” We always had unique versions, but it was funny how often this happened.
The summer before her death, we both got interested in book-making. So, when I went home to help my dad clean out her studio, I brought back all the book-making books and supplies she had purchased, and started mulling it over. The day before she died, she had bought me a birthday present, which was an antique wooden batik printing block. I decided to incorporate this into the hand-bound “Whimsy Journals” I had started making as a crayon rubbing that I used for a decorative first page. It was beautiful, and my own secret love-letter to my mom.
Fast-forward 3 years, and I was experimenting with 3-D elements on journal covers. My nephew’s 13th birthday was coming up and I needed to think up a gift for him. I knew he loved dragons, and I had an idea… That was the very first “Dragon Whimsy Journal”, and they have been evolving ever since, and I just know Mom would have loved them!
