It started with a beer can and a Swiss Army knife.
July 2022
First season as a raft guide in Stanley! I saw a can with a cool design and… Boom! My first Beerings were made at the Compound, our raft guide employee housing. I used a Swiss army knife for every step - scissors for cutting, knife for making the hole… so many mistakes were made. In this stage, I learned quite a few things (i.e. how not to glue my fingers together).
August 2022
As time went on, I decided that I wanted to sell my earrings. My boss owns the local fly shop, and when I asked him if I could sell them there, he happily obliged. To my dismay, a fellow river guide bought my entire stock of earrings before I ever made it to the fly shop. This made me realize that there was demand for my art, which motivated me to create more.
September 2022
The summer wound down , and I moved back to Bozeman to start my second year studying the environment. My friends Mia and Isabell helped me with marketing and production to create a selling platform on Instagram. I struggled with the re-entry to the app. For me, Instagram is a place of negative comparison, but I had to reframe that belief in order to make this project successful.
November 2022
I started seeing my earrings on strangers. It was common for me to come home from a party with a bag full of sticky beer cans, ready to be cleaned and made into art. I started doing custom orders. One Christmas order was 15 (!!) pairs of Modelo earrings. My aunt bought about ten pairs for her friends in Oregon and they all loved them. I love that they look lovely on everyone. However, I quickly got overwhelmed and took some time off to let my creative juices recharge.
January - April 2023
I moved to Norway on a study abroad program. I brought my crafting tools and have been in full-on production mode for this summer. My lovely friends, Milo and Nora, have supported me with marketing, photography, and translating from Norwegian to English. I’ll be here until June, but until then, thanks for supporting. See you in Stanley / Sandpoint / Boise / Bozeman / wherever the world takes me next! <3
Whew! That was a lot. If you’re not tired yet, a few closing thoughts…
Creativity and Burnout
I ran a risk when I turned a hobby into a means of income. The interesting thing about this transition is that it can become a burden rather than a creative outlet. I found myself burned out on being hunched over a desk for hours, trying to coordinate earring meet-ups, and forcing myself to be in the flow state. By taking time off, I allow myself recharge. Creativity comes in ebbs and flows, and when it’s strained it disappears.
I’ve felt this with everything in my life, most especially skiing over the past year. In a hyper competitive environment like Bozeman, it’s quite easy to feel like you’re not “doing enough”. Which is stupid. That’s why I created Simplicity, which focuses on bringing it back to the simple joy of skiing. Go and watch it if you have a few minutes!
This is a reminder to take a break from whatever you’re burnt out on, even school. Mental health is more important than grades!
Donate + Love Yours
Percentages of my income go to organizations I’m passionate about. One is Redside Foundation, which is an organization that focuses on professional guide mental health. Having lost a close friend to suicide, I feel that their cause is causing positive change and creating conversation that NEEDS to happen. Go check them out. They also have a great job board!
Another organization doing great stuff is Youth Salmon Protectors. Organizations like these do both preventative work and clean up work when big environmental mishaps happen. This is a favorite of mine because it’s made up of incredible young people who are making a direct influence on our great state’s future. Salmon are a keystone species, and we are f*cked without them. Go do some research!
Without the rivers and the people on them, I would not have a job. Let’s all do our parts to protect both the humans and places we love.
