I’ve been making things as long as I can remember. When I was in grade school, my mom said she would not buy me any more stuffed animals, but would show me how to make one. We bought a pattern and made a dolphin out of green corduroy. I was soon making my own patterns for imaginary animals. I continued working with fabrics, using them often in my sculptures for art class. After college I stayed in Chicago and managed a used bookstore. At that time I started a small business selling stuffed animals made from old coats. When I moved to the DC area I bought an old house that needed work. This created a steady source of projects that taught me carpentry skills and filled the house with materials I collected at flea markets and yard sales. I love digging through piles of miscellaneous objects, trying to figure out what they would have been used for and thinking about what I could do with them. At this point salvaged and vintage materials became my raw materials and a wood shop replaced my sewing machine.

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Had Matter was started in 2004 at Eastern Market, a weekly crafts market in Washington DC. In the beginning I made mirrors and key holders with my flea market finds and vintage images. Eventually I expanded to mail holders, spice racks and more.  After eighteen years of working and selling in DC, I moved to Maine in February of 2022. With a larger studio and new inspiration I look forward to taking my work down new paths.

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I still make and design everything I sell and hold myself to high standards of construction. I strive to create designs with a narrative because I think the things we live with, functional or not, should engage the imagination.