Somewhere in the middle of my senior year in college while getting a business degree I think I was sleep walking through, I signed up for a little class that I saw as “recess”. I didn’t know it at the time, but it would change my life forever. It was a beginning jewelry making class. I signed up for it to fill an elective…little did I know it would fill my life. You see, this February marks my 33rd year as a full-time artist and business owner. The alchemy of the metals mesmerized me instantly and I was hooked. Sawing, heating, melting, filing and polishing into a piece that hopefully the wearer would cherish forever is STILL magic.
I am very proud of having stuck to it all these years. Not thinking about it then, but now I know how much dreams and goals can become magnets that pull us in the right direction. Often not an easy one. There was the night eating saltines in the hotel room because I didn’t have money for a restaurant while doing a trade show. Oh and the time I worked in someone’s shed in their backyard with no heat in the middle of winter in Colorado. And too many more to go into here.
But, thinking back on the years, there is none I am more proud of than this past year of 2020. Because not only do these down days and those winters of our lives pull us through, they remind of us to have faith. To me, faith is the ability to see something that doesn’t yet exist. Just like the beginning of an art piece.
We haven’t lost our way, but are creating a new way together. We took creativity and community and turned it into unity. When we needed peace and piece of mind. That’s what art does, It is simply another form of prayer or meditation. And that is why I am creating for you, Release the Vision, a 2021 virtual workshop together! Stayed tuned for more details!
And as a celebration of 33 years at the helm of Sweet Bird, we are offering 20% off all jewelry now just in time for Valentine's Day!
We are united in the spirit of making our lives from meaning. This spirit of togetherness has created a family, not just a business. And that includes the most amazing people I get to work with as well. Shannon, my assistant in the managing of it all, her title better known as, “Artist Wrangler” has been with Sweetbird for 10 years this February as well. We have laughed and cried together over your beautiful notes and messages for many years. She truly has the biggest heart. Mary is my part time jeweler extraordinaire who has been with us for over five years. She packs over 50 years of jewelry making experience and is a volunteer firefighter for over twenty years. Even though she is in her mid seventies, you would never know it, strong and capable. And then there is Nathan my son, and jack of all trades that joined the crew a few years ago. It would be four years before he was born that I started Sweetbird. Nate is multi talented at helping run the tech side of things to jumping in helping me make jewelry when needed. We have truly elevated our relationship through navigating a family business together and keeping me hip on music! I am so grateful for them, because it truly takes a village. And much more fun to boot!
And then there is you. Some of you have been with me from the very beginning. I’ve experienced your momentous occasions….births, deaths, graduations, weddings, birthdays and so much more. We go back so many years. That you keep choosing to spend your hard earned money and gift choice with Sweetbird defies words at times. To me, that is the ultimate compliment and what I am most proud of. That is the true alchemy of our lives. That is American ingenuity, creativity and care.
For all of this, I want to thank YOU. I am more grateful than you will ever know.
Nancy + Team Sweet Bird, Shannon, Nate and Mary