About

I was somewhat content making jewelry for the masses by day, but making my heart sing by creating strange art, and keeping it to myself, in the privacy of my studio by night. Once in a while, behind the safety of my keyboard, I would share it on social media.

I started noticing an online tribe of virtual friends forming who really dug the weird stuff and I took note of the out of the-ordinary things they would share on their own social media.

The funny thing was, when I would meet them in real life, from looking at them, I would have never known. I suspected that maybe they were toning down that part of themselves in “real life,” just like I was.

Then this strange thing happened to me.

I hit a certain age.

I noticed that I’d started caring less about what other people thought. Hello, pajama pants in the grocery store! Ohmygosh, I felt so free. Somewhere along the line a new me had emerged.

I decided to try a little experiment.

After 20 years of selling my “tame” jewelry pieces I decided that for my next art show I would dump it and put my secret weirdness out there for the real life public to see. I was ready to fully be me. (In my picture up there, you can see some of those early pieces).

Visitors to my studio show loved the new work. But I soon learned that they loved it on my walls, not theirs. I wondered… Maybe they also weren’t ready to fly their freak flag in the same way that I hadn’t been?

That dismal show set me on a new mission.

I needed to find a way to help people remind themselves that life is too short to not always have the things around them that make them smile.

I thought about how I remind myself of things in life that are important to me. While notes taped to the bathroom mirror are good reminders, I went a little more extreme. Tattoos. Something that is with me all the time. (I have three on my forearm that help me remember to breathe, put things into perspective, and to always persevere).

Not being a tattoo artist, I couldn’t offer that up. 

But, the next best thing?

Jewelry.

I decided to pick back up my jeweler’s saw and create the most stylish, yet quirky, accessories that people could use in the same way, all safe for work… or wherever.

The ideas started to flood in.

You love skulls? I can make them pretty, and unassuming. Eyeballs? How about an entire bracelet of them fit for office attire? Maybe even some UFOs, in sterling silver of course, to give them added credibility. And tentacles. Definitely tentacles.

I so want you to start feeling the same sense of freedom of expression that I do!

I released my pilot series of handcrafted Quirky&Odd sterling silver jewelry in 2018 and the response has been overwhelming.

If you know me, you know that I’m kind of an introvert. 

Surprisingly, one of the best gifts from this all has been connecting with people around the themes that I’ve explored thus far.

I’ve had some very interesting conversations about spirituality, UFOs, horror movies, and countless other Quirky&Odd topics.

And those who don’t get it? They just move along. Although, one customer was enamored with my flying saucer jewelry because she thought they were sun bonnets. I knew right then that I’d flown under the “you’re weird” radar.

Mission accomplished.