About Us
Creating a sanctuary in our homes is precious.
It means selecting the colors, the textures, the design, the decor
that is a reflection of who we are
The beautiful things in your home have meaning to you,
whether because it was given to you by someone meaningful, or
you discovered it somewhere so it has memories attached
or whether you spend hours scouring the internet to find
just that right thing that expresses you.
Like these handmade egg cups I discovered in 2001 in Tasmania at
I'm happy to see that it's still going strong.
To you they may just look like beautiful egg cups, but I found these in the safest place on earth. Scroll down to the bottom of this page if you would like to hear the story.
After much travel since then, I've settled down in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I'm embracing everything New Mexico
I wasn't born with a natural ability to draw or paint and it wasn't until I stumbled onto soap making that I was able to revel in the creative making of something.
I believe we all have creative ability within us, whether that is creating 'the art object' itself or
is creating beautiful surroundings through thoughtful curating.
The appreciation of beautiful things is an internal thing.
Holding or viewing something of beauty elicits feelings inside us -
a connection perhaps to our souls?
Our Mission is to enhance your life
As always, my experiences inspire my soapmaking (my humble art) and
I have been on a journey of discovering local ingredients, the best part of which is meeting and learning about other Makers
My journey caught the attention of the local news and they have made a much better video about us than I ever could.
Just click on the pic and it will take you there to watch it.
That's me in the background behind my whisk collection
If after reading and watching all this you find your interest is piqued, we'd love to show you the products we have in our store.
Remember, designing is our jam so if you can't find that special something that will enhance your life or as a gift to enhance someone else's, just shoot me an email and we can see what we can design together.
Here in the foothills of the magnificent Sandia Mountains ,
our days are filled with sunshine (most days) and after many years of travelling around the world, I am now settled here, to be close to my only family in the US.
My younger son and my grandson live here and it is wonderful to be able to see so much of them.
The rest of my family are still in Australia. I really miss them, especially my elder son and his family.
Thank goodness for technology,
so we can stay in touch.
And that's about it, almost a novel!
Cheers,
Trish
The Story
of the Egg Cups
Suddenly I was being shipped to Tasmania, that tiny little island under Australia.
We were working on the first phase of a gas pipeline project, on the east coast of Malaysia in a city called Kuantan.
We lived at the Tembeling Resort perched on the side of the bluff overlooking the South China Sea (see pic). Quite a drive to the nearest bar let me tell you, and quite a few more stories from those nights!
Unlike Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, people in Kuantan rarely saw white people, especially white women.
We would be driving through the city and cars would slow down beside us and point at me, like 'oooh look there's a unicorn!' Kids would tentatively smile and wave and then giggle.
Driving the half hour to the work site each morning before sunrise could be dangerous. We were running late on morning so we were exceeding the non existent speed limit. It was a good time to be driving though cause you didn't have to contend with a million mopeds carrying entire families or crates of produce.
This particular morning a tour bus coming from the opposite direction was flashing it's headlights at us and so we automatically slowed down. Knee jerk reaction was that police were ahead but that didn't make sense cause there were no traffic police there. We found out why as we came around the corner. Two massive water buffaloes were sitting in the middle of the road. That would have been like running into two blocks of concrete.
We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.
As I'm writing this so many memories are flooding into my mind, but I will have to save them for another time, may well take a whole book!
Then 9/11 happened - the horror - the heartbreak
Our location was close to pockets of radical Muslim populations. After one of our colleagues was threatened, emergency evacuation plans were put into place. They entailed getting to a certain point on the coast however we could and waiting to be picked up by evacuation vessels. Listening to the plans was like being in a movie, it was surreal.
Thankfully nothing happened and I was told I had to get out because I was at higher risk because I was high profile. I had to ask what that meant cause I was just another anonymous Australian in a foreign country.
Being a white woman who also happened to be a foot taller than the locals meant I stood out in a crowd, which they worried would make me a target.
Getting onto the plane was the first time in my life that I had ever been patted down. It was uncomfortable but at the same time comforting that they were going to those extremes. These days a pat down at the airport is no big deal, we've adapted.
At that horrific time in the history of mankind, Tasmania was deemed one of the safest places on earth. It also happened to be one of the most idyllic. Especially Launceston where we were based.
Remote and beautiful. Beautifully wild in some places sophisticated in others.
I found the egg cups in the gift store of a hotel called The Woolstore, in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania.
We spent eight months there and they were some of the best times of my life. Cocooned from the whirlwinds of world events.
So many memories, some bad but so many that are wonderful, return whenever I touch those egg cups.
An inanimate object can have life.