I'm currently living in the Pacific Northwest near Portland, Oregon. I used to work in the high-paced world of the high-tech industry, designing electronic consumer products and software. When my son was born in 2002, I left the corporate world to focus on being a full-time mom. In 2004, my son was joined by a little sister.

When my daughter started to pinch and scratch while nursing, I took up beading again and made a nursing necklace to keep her focused. That got me back into the swing of things, with a bad case of "beading fever", and I started creating new pieces regularly again.
Since that time, I've had numerous requests from friends who have asked me to make necklaces for them as well.

So I created this site in May of 2005 where I could put my latest beadwork up to share with my friends. The site eventually grew into a full fledged business, but the act of creating new things is still the driving force behind it all.

Most of my work is nursing necklaces, particularly since I find this style to be very comfortable, and my youngest still occasionally reaches for a loop when she's sleepy and resting on my hip, but occasionally I get the bug to make other things as well.

Why Loops?

There's nothing about a nursing necklace that requires it to be a loop pendant. This is just my signature style.

When I started making this jewelry, I searched online for something I would like and didn't really find anything that fit my taste. I didn't wear much jewelry at all at the time, but the functional aspects of such a necklace was rapidly gaining appeal as my daughter was quite the pincher. I made regular beaded necklaces with large beads on wire with magnetic clasps but found them too heavy for me to wear comfortably.

Then someone showed me a nursing necklace that consisted of a leather cord with a knotted pendant on the end with big beads and chinese coins. This gave me the idea of creating a pendant design.
My mother had a little gold pendant with a single pearl in the center given to her by my father when I was born, which I wore at my wedding, and this gave me the idea of a round loop pendant that could be grabbed by a baby. I worked on a design where form follows function, gaining sturdiness and allowing for the pendants to slide to relieve some of the pressures that exploring fingers might cause when yanking on the loop. I use satin non-organic materials that wont break down over time, and I use large easy to grasp clasps because I didn't like struggling with getting my jewelry on and off each day.

I no longer need the jewelry for its functional purpose, but I continue to wear and make such pendants for all to enjoy, even if only for their ornamental value. I like that they have a pleasurable tactile aspect to them, a bit like worry-beads, that adds to their appeal.

Laughing Starfish:

I have been asked repeatedly about the name of my website. Actually, it was pure whimsey. My son was born 5 weeks early, and he had a tendency to lay in his heated bassinet in the level 2 nursery at the hospital with his arms and legs outstretched, which earned him the nickname of "little starfish" at the time. The name came to mind when I was trying to find something memorable for the name of my website.
Most of my signature work now carries a little starfish charm on the clasp.