Autumn

My early childhood was spent growing up in the lower peninsula of Michigan. Our lives revolved around nature and the seasons. My sister and our friends would spend the summer days creating imaginary houses in the tall grasses and fields. We would go canoeing, boating, and sailing. We went on enchanted summer vacations where we walked the shores of the Great Lakes, looking for chain coral, agate, and Petoskey stones. My father had a box of minerals that he had collected throughout the years, which I used to share at school for show and tell each fall. We had big winters full of snow. When we would get out of school we would build snow forts, snow-people, sled, and play ice hockey. Spring would return and the whole wheel of seasons would repeat themselves.

We moved to North Carolina in the late 1970s. It was a big change for me. It took me some time to understand all the beauty that surrounded me. After I learned to drive, I would explore the beautiful, enchanted mountains and Asheville as it was the place where I could go and feel at home. Today, I still live outside of Asheville but go into the city for culture, food, music, amazing positive people, and work.

Love is what makes a family. I have my traditional family of Love: my partner, mother, stepchildren, sister, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, cat, and two shubunkin goldfish. I also am very blessed to have my family of friends. It is my motherly nature to take care of others, so I have always worked in an area that provided me the ability to provide compassionate loving care to people, animals, and plants. When we align our hearts and minds with Love, all beings of this planet become our family.

The imagination and creative mind of my childhood never really went away. When I am not making jewelry, I love getting my hands and feet into the earth. I grow medicinal plants and flowers in the spring and summer and work with herbal medicine. I also love to dance and attend music festivals, especially with my hula hoop. I love to play dress-up at every opportunity—especially as a fairy and wander the gardens on the Biltmore Estate. I even make fairy doll totems when I have time.

I am a registered nurse, as well as a massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. When I was thinking of retiring from my job in nursing and turning back toward my holistic roots, the door opened and the opportunity presented for me to work for SoulKu. I love being a mama maker for so many reasons.

• It aligns with my values and allows me time to do the things I love most.
• I love working with stones and infusing them with Love.
• I love thinking about the person who will be receiving the piece that I am working on.
• I love having the gift of time to spend with my partner, aging mother, and family.
• Aligning with my core beliefs, SoulKu is an altruistic, environmentally, and socially conscious business.
• I get to be part of a community of such beautiful, positive, compassionate, kind people.

My favorite SoulKu product is always changing and hard for me to have a favorite. I believe that stones have a healing vibration and show up for us when we need them. So depending on what is going on in our lives, we may be attracted to different stones at different times. I have many of the limited edition Super Power stones in my collection.

Recently, I have been having a lot of people in my life having health issues, and the Amethyst Sacred necklace to heal has been resonating with me to give as a gift. Additionally the Black Spinel Sacred necklace is always a wonderful choice for recharge and release of negative energy.

I try to align my heart and mind with Love in every moment. It is not always easy to do, and it is so easy to get off track of this singular goal. There is always the choice in each moment to choose Love or fear. I choose Love, and when I do, beautiful things appear, like working at SoulKu.

I am so grateful for my job. I have never worked in such a loving and uplifting work environment until now.