10/24/2026
Just sent out the newsletter and found myself still reflecting after I hit send, so here are a few more thoughts.
It was 2019. I impulsively bought a laser machine I didn’t know how to use, and started teaching myself Illustrator, how to actually run the laser, how to sell online, how to vend at markets... and then the pandemic hit. Somehow that turned into extra time to keep learning, selling a BOATLOAD of sweary snowflakes on Etsy, trying to sell my work in a retail shop in Stanwood, and vending at the Nutcracker Holiday Gift Show in 2020.
During lockdown I kept having this idea of creating a creative community, but had no idea what that would actually look like. Then in 2021 I had the chance to rent a local building, and six days after getting the keys I hosted my first art market with 27 artists inside what is now known as the Globe in Anacortes.
From there I hosted markets at Azusa Garden Center, The Transit Shed, The Depot, Emerald Flats in Bow, and more, and I loved every bit of it. Event planning has always brought me joy, whether it was fundraisers or weddings. So much joy in a good spreadsheet and managing moving pieces.
Along the way I stepped back from making my own art, especially once I opened the coffee shop and creative space. Now that it’s been closed for almost a year (can you believe that?!?), I feel really grateful for that whole experience, AND so grateful to be back to hosting markets and creating my own work again.
Sharing all of this to say: follow the thing that lights you up, even if you have no idea what you’re doing. A mentor once told me you can always “build the boat as you’re sailing it.”
Just start somewhere.
Thanks to Abbie Kunch Photo for capturing this photo from one of my first holiday markets. It's been a wild ride!
