I don’t think of myself as a shy person, I make friends easily and love to connect on a deep level…the truth is though, I’m better in small groups or better yet, one-on-one.  I think that’s why I’ve waited to put myself out here and to attempt to engage globally in hopes of finding my tribe.  It’s scary; to be vulnerable to any number of people; to be confident that I can communicate and connect in a way that allows others to see me, the whole me, and hope that they love me.   I want to connect and connecting with and bringing folks together in an empowering, authentic way, feels like what I am meant to do.   My little light to shine.

My light shines on making and doing by hand that which is essential to living…clothing, food, shelter.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a maker.  The simple beauty of a handmade life calls to me.  I feel so incredibly empowered when I take my needs into my own hands and create.  I’ve long wanted to share those skills with others in hopes that they also feel that sense of empowerment; so they can take on their world in their unique way.

This is my 40th year, I’ve spent the past 39 building houses as a carpenter, making shelter into a home, preserving food, making gifts for my loved ones, knitting sweaters, crocheting and sewing a connection with my late Grandma, creating furniture, taking pre-loved discards and creating something new and lovely, drafting and sewing my own wardrobe and scheming and planning on what I could next make.   Making feeds my soul and cares for me and my family.  It allows me to disconnect from the mainstream and decide for myself what my body and life look like and how I spend my time and money and what I kind of a world I support.

I’ve spent much of my life craving feminine gatherings.  The imagery and stories of days-gone-by when women came together to make for the home have always resonated with me.  I distinctly feel the isolation of our time and wish to bring that collaborative energy into my life and into the lives of those with whom it also resonates.

I began this website as a way to connect with makers…through my story and in-person in the form of retreats.  I’ve felt compelled to share skills in a workshop form for much of my adult life, but I never could figure out what that might look like, what shape those gatherings would form.  Until now.  Actually, it was a year ago that I got clarity.

I had just begun to come up for air after feeling underwater as a new mama and was searching for a retreat to attend; to give myself space to make and connect in a time when I felt isolated.   I couldn’t find a retreat that hit on everything I was looking for.   I certainly found some that met many of my needs, one of which I attended and found restorative and inspirational.  (A Gathering of Stitches on the coast of Maine – a retreat I highly recommend)  However,  I wanted a retreat that had synergy with all that I hold dear…organic food, mindful gathering, organic fabrics, handwork, deep connection, a touch of magic.   Respect for making and connecting but also for people and planet.  It struck me then that this was the form of gathering for which I was searching.

So, here I am.  Reaching out with my story and offering my retreats.

I’d like to meet you and have a deep, heartfelt conversation.

In kinship,

Tina