ABOUT

LavenderJewelry = What happens when a glass blower obtains job at organic lavender farm.  

My adventure with lavender began over twenty years ago at Pelindaba Lavender Farm on San Juan Island. The glass blowing job that brought me to the island was seasonal and I ended up finding what I thought would be short-term work at the local organic farm. That was back in 2003 when I joined the artisan team of handcrafters at the Operations Center on the farm. Pelindaba followed a vertically integrated model, we focused on making value-added products from the lavender flowers and essential oils produced right on site. As I learned more about the properties of lavender, I moved into retail sales in the busy summer months with a focus on designing and formulating products in the shoulder seasons. Over the years I wore many, many hats across all aspects of the business and got to know it well as the Director of Product Development, the Buyer, Inventory Manager and Regional Retail Operations Manager. 

While I worked as an employee to help grow Pelindaba from a small island business to a nationwide lavender franchise, I was able to fuse my passions for glasswork and lavender, energized by the many unique varieties growing at the farm. I have been developing my torchwork methods for over 25 years. Before settling on the island, I studied art and art history in Mexico and Italy, culminating in a BFA from Alfred University (near Corning NY). It was after training as a traditional glassblower and exploring metal and glass casting techniques that I made the move across the country to San Juan Island which is located part-way between Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC - accessible only by ferry or small plane. The island is in the rain shadow of the Olympic and Cascade mountains, an ideal climate for farming lavender.