Hello from *Portland* (!!!)

Hi friends! After a whirlwind of a summer, we are officially living and working in Portland, Oregon! I’ve missed this special little corner of the internet. Glad to be back– it feels good to get into a rhythm of familiar rituals 〰️ The new things have been plentiful and exciting for sure– but it does feel cozy getting back to the things that have been put on pause. It feels a little contradictory, but I bet you can relate!

I find myself rushing to catch you up on everything (there’s been a lot going on), but I’m reminding myself that we are not in a hurry– and that is a luxury. My intention with this blog post is to welcome us both back into this space. Grab a lil treat for yourself, sit down, and feel free to pause and reflect on your own summer as you read 🌿

✨ Highlights & reflections from this summer:

🌼 **MAY** | My husband graduated from medical school! We celebrated with family and friends. With all of the anticipation of this time, it was nice to be able to pause and savor it with our people. After that, we got to work packing up our apartment. It was intense, fast-paced, and memorable.

*Photo by Mackenzie Murphy*

🌼 **JUNE** | We said goodbye to our community and it was… tough. I’ll miss the views of trees from our window and walking through the Japanese garden. We were lucky to have some of the best friends and neighbors there. Before we knew it, our lives were taped up in boxes and loaded on a truck. Then, we got the keys to our first house! Residency began shortly after that– and we dove headfirst into the next chapter. Lots of endings and beginnings all at once. A blur of happy and sad and excitement (and every other emotion under the sun).

🌼 **JULY** | Lotssss of unpacking, organizing, and setting up our new home. Between juggling LJ's new residency schedule and trying to set up our internet, we also found ourselves building a lot of IKEA furniture. I also had my first Portland market—a great introduction to the vibrant maker community here. We blinked and the month was somehow already over!

🌼 **AUGUST** | There are still things to finish setting up, but the house/our life feels a little more settled now: I have dedicated studio space! I have a weekly farmer’s market run! We have a gorgeous, lush park to walk to! Overall, we feel really, really lucky to be here and hold onto the moments that let us pause and take it in.
*We’re here. We did it.*
*More good things coming.*

On the Horizon

Moving to a new city is a lot! I know many of you are familiar with the haze moving and getting settled brings. I have some big plans in the works for the fall that I’m not quite ready to go into yet, but will soon. More art markets are in the works and I’ll announce those dates in the next couple of weeks. I’d love to meet up and say hi if you’re ever in the Portland area- let me know! It’s been really filling to get to meet up with friends in the short time we’ve been here.

Sometimes I forget that these online musings reach real humans. I’ve gotten to sit down and paint by the water or chat over smoothies with a few of you and it reminds me just how vital connection is to our collective creative practice. It brings me out of my head and grounds me back to the community we are all a part of.

〰️

When we were getting ready to move from Boise to Oregon five years ago, a friend expressed how excited they were for us and that they felt Oregon would be a healing place for me. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that. Five years later, I’m happy to confirm that statement still holds a lot of truth. Oregon feels like home in so many ways: the trees, the coast, the art…. and the people we’ve met along the way. It feels good to be putting down roots in a place that feels so right.

There’s so much more I could say about the past few months! This imperfectly captures the feelings of it (or at least it tries to). If you’d like to support me in this new adventure, I’m back to regular shipping in my studio! Colorful fiber packs, original fine art, and hand dyed ribbons await you.

Thank you for your continued support in my creative endeavors!

You are appreciated more than you know. 🧡

With gratitude,

Emily