My Story

“My Love for hats came early… ”

“I wasn’t born to the West but I knew in my heart that somehow I would end up here. I was born in the rural rolling hills of Pennsylvania and have forever had a love of the outdoors. My parents nurtured in me a deep respect for the natural world and a love of adventure and exploration. Our family took numerous road trips across the country - always lured by the call of the West. It was on these trips, I developed a respect and awe for the glorious country I was fortunate enough to be born in. My mother with her thirst for knowledge took us to a number of Native American reservations and heritage sites and, not to be outdone, my father took us to Rodeos and to ride horses over the vast endless plains of sage and tumbleweed when we could. I fell in love with the mountains, the wild rivers, the big open skies, and the West’s remoteness that crept their way into my heart and soul. Throughout my life, I have continued to follow my love of art and the natural world - they are inseparable to me. During my high school education, I was grateful to have an apprenticeship with the acclaimed metal sculptor Val Bertoia. I discovered I had a gift for working metal and later I went on to study design at Moore College of Art and textiles at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. In the late 90’s I moved to London, sharing a small studio space with a number of young British artists. The Millennium found me moving back to the States - loving to curate spaces and to bring people together, I opened a gallery in upstate New York 100 miles north of New York City. During that time, I began to meld textiles with design by weaving large scale sculptural work for interiors and exteriors in copper and brass. Back in New York City some years later, I ran a satelite gallery that allowed me to work both in North America and Europe where I curated exhibitions for gifted artists such as Gillian Jagger, Emil Alzamora and singer/songwriter, and painter - Joni Mitchell. The following decade blessed me with the birth of a child and I chose to keep my work closer to home. I began working in sterling silver and studied smithing with the master artisan/blacksmith, Jonathan Nedbor learning how to forge iron while I continued to weave and create sterling silver jewelry. In 2020 my life dream of living in the West finally became a reality when I moved to a ranch near Cody, Wyoming. It is here, in the majesty of the ancient landscape where the Elk migrate from the mountains to the flat lands and the Grizzly bear hunt for fish along the river corridor that my inspiration comes from. “