News — 1 Minute Read

Like the consistent use of text as a design element in all my creations, marking anniversaries or special dates has become a familiar characteristic of my products.  For example, the bird ornaments I make from vintage calendar tea towels can be customized with an embroidered circle around the date on one wing and the month on the other. Apart from marking an occasion, I often consider the duration of time that goes into making something. I was recently confronted with an alarming reminder of how long it's taken me to complete a project I started in 2019 - how has...

When coronavirus began presenting, and self-isolation was fresh, Montclair Made was gaining new wholesale customers on Faire and maintaining a storefront on Etsy. I was comfortable where I was, so confident of a future with a steady workload that I had already made the decision not to vend at any craft shows in 2020. I made this choice after traveling to shows for 3 decades, and enduring losses for the last few years. But I could justify the choice to save time and money by staying home and fulfilling larger orders that were rolling in since I joined Faire in...

Since last year I’ve been planning a bikepacking trip, a week of riding and camping, a late spring road trip. I have a list of necessary gear with a few items checked off, a touring bike on layaway, and good intentions for a “midlife” adventure that gets me outdoors, facing all the inevitable challenges head on and starting the summer off feeling strong and balanced. Though I still have a lot of miles to ride for practice and gear to acquire to be well prepared for a long distance bikepacking trip, I booked a campsite for my shakedown ride in...

In 2006, with the help of my daughter, I started collecting lost gloves, washing them, and turning them into dolls. Dubbed "gLove Story Dolls" by my mom, they feature button eyes and yarn hair. Over the years I continued to pick up a random glove here and there, but didn't have the same dedication to the project as I had early on. I still have a few dozen gLove Story Dolls, and nearly as many found gloves ready for their transformation. Now, 13 years after I started making them, I am rebooting the gLove Story Dolls! This v2.0 will still...

As I reflect on 2017, I feel proud of my accomplishments, many instigated by the loss of my mother in February. Her legacy inspires me to transform the grief of her passing into the energy I need to focus my efforts to improve my life every day.  Her health had deteriorated quickly and her passing was not unexpected, I felt relief at the news, a memorial would be planned for May. Though I claimed to be dealing with the loss, my life was clearly unmanageable and a week after she passed I voluntarily entered rehabilitation treatment for substance abuse at...