" The thing is, to become a master and in your old age to acquire the courage to do what children did when they knew nothing"
- Earnest Hemmingway
My selfie with the *majestic* Studio Betta
The Tencel Wall!!
Credit for all the custom builds & the entire shed goes to my amazing husband and partner on this fantastic journey, Kincaid <3
Day in the life of a Studio Betta
A warm welcome from my creative cave! My name is Julia, I'm a crafty, nature loving, multi-hobbyist, homeschooling mom to two beautiful children. I cannot resist the urge to follow what excites my spirit! If you're looking for me on my free time, I'm either toiling away like Kamajī on my latest project, or I'm dancing through the dining room :)
All my items are handmade here, in my backyard studio, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I'm a deep person, and I bring that level of detail into every part of my business. I choose materials which are gentle on the earth, healthy for the owner, use minimal, recyclable packaging, and I take every business decision to heart.
Two of my adorable little helpers <3
To tell the story of how Jujibelle began, we would have to rewind to my childhood, at a time when I got a taste for the indispensable energy of creation in my very own, personal way.
The Jujibelle Lore:
If anyone were to ask me what my favorite age was growing up, I would say it was 8 years old. This was the age when I inherited leftover glass beads from my eldest sibling's school project, and with a little help from my father and his Leatherman, I started creating my very first beaded bangle bracelets. It satisfied something latent within me, literally giving me the tools and resources to begin discovery of all the things which I could create with my hands.
The Journey of Creation:
(I warned you I am deep)
The inspiration
Every stage in the process of creation - no matter what it is, offers something for every part of your spirit. First the inspiration, that comes from your own affinity for the beauty in the world around us. It's like a little package, a gift we receive in our hearts, and in our vision, one which we could take in so many directions. But it is up to us to take the opportunity to choose a path and to nurture a vision into being.
The Work - The Process
Then we begin the work, and we lose ourselves in it, giving ourselves to whatever arises, we risk disappointment at best, savor every bit of excitement, bask in the satisfaction of the simple repetition, and struggle to motivate ourselves through the tedious or grueling parts. Perhaps our creation evolves away from what we started it as, and likely it will. If we did our work well, what we create has the potential to be much greater than anything we could have planned, and indeed more than the sum of its parts.
Completion - Connection
More than anything, the finished product, is a medicine as much as the process was. The feeling of satisfaction with something beautiful you created, and knowing what it took out of you to create it, is humbling to the spirit, and it breathes a new depth into our material surroundings. But to taste the indispensable energy of creation yourself, is the gift that gives back everything and more you put into it.
After experiencing this myself, my natural next steps were to find a way to share in this experience with others. This is the connection.
The Lore continues...
Luckily, I had a large family!
I hosted classes for my siblings to attend and learn friendship bracelet making, jewelry making, and knitting. I set up pop-up shops in the living room, where my siblings could check out with their personal ID cards, lovingly laminated with box tape. I called my shop "Julia's Jewelry" and sold all my jewelry pieces (which were promptly re-absorbed into my personal collection).
One of my first necklace and bangles made with the glass beads!
Fancy Nancy: One of my biggest inspirations
I hope I took lunch breaks
This is the style Willy bought, with a bunch of others. A man of good taste✊
The Mochi that started it all
Honorable mentions:
Are you kidding me
The Seasons of Jujibelle
Look at those little hands!
I have a special place in my heart for copper
Naturally dyed yarn; alder & fern
Fresh Handspun wool from local Sheep <3
Corvid Mitts for Ama <3
Shetland lace knitting ♡
And you guys do NOT want to know how close I got to joining a bobbin lace guild
At 11 years old, I stretched my wings, into my driveway. I setup a table with my polymer clay creations (my latest craft thanks to my friend Allicia) and advertised my sale to passersby with signs painted with Tempura paint. I was supported by probably like one neighbor, my little sister's friend, and my biggest support, my mailman. Thank you, Willy.
Utilizing my father's business sense and my mother's natural photography skills and tools (which she lovingly imparted to me), at 12 years old, in 2012, I created my Etsy account. In 2013 I began selling my first clay charms online. I named my shop Jujibelle, a childhood nickname- fitting for a cute little clay charm shop. It's a name that I have kept, as a homage to its roots. I sold my clay charms to people, and shared tutorials for them on my YouTube channel, following in the footsteps of all the other young ladies who inspired me on the online community, unified by the love of clay and cuteness.
Jujibelle has evolved through the seasons of life, and through all of my artisanal explorations. With high school, came the long-awaited jewelry class, which gave me the skills to dive back into my original love of jewelry making.
Then motherhood favored other hobbies, and many of which became stars aligning, because I could finally make items for my children.
Being immersed in motherhood, I retired myself to fulfilling the one constant demand of the people, which was my custom pocket pouches. And on that train, I rode for a while, until the next season would rear, and my creative drive and my children's eager hands began to fill my cup in a new way. And I have them to thank for how this latest re-birth of Jujibelle began.
Each hobby picked up, and every craft I've studied has enriched every part of my life. I have developed a deep appreciation for hand crafts, and artistic expression in all of its forms.
Slow-stitched (shoutout to k3n Clothtales on Youtube you are my soul grandmother <3)
Collaging and gel printing for Therapy
A special dedication to my cool soul aunt, Sheree Burlington.
Bob, I will be back to watch your Sunday coffee videos when it's time for my next vintage sewing machine project!
Thanks to Nicholas Noe's blog, and Bob Fowler on YouTube, I was able to bring this beautiful piece of history into the 21st century! A riveting endeavor!
My first eco-printing experiments!
A very special creation. Circa 2019 I dropped out of college and took a 9-month program with Michelle Mckinney. Little did I know when I signed up, I had another 9 month program growing ♡
And the real Ancestral healing began
Wisdom of the Body
When I was younger, I would feel a shadow of guilt as I moved away from something, and gravitated elsewhere, or worse became stuck in a void, wondering what I was doing. I thought I was abandoning my craft. Eventually relinquishing my resistance over the years, I allowed myself to be puzzled by my own behavior, I observed myself oscillate between mediums, sources of experience, subjects of study, like a weathervane in the landscape of my life. A kind of higher intelligence, changing its course, seeking its next medicine. A conversation which took place on the unconscious, and emotional levels of myself. the full breadth of which would be unbeknownst to my mind.
Eventually when my curious mind became privy, to this extraordinary dance, and where it had landed me, a kind of admiration, a fascination, a celebration of the wisdom of the body ensued, and the beauty of the human became clear.
A Heartfelt Thank You
Many years have passed from the inception of my business. I've taken breaks, grown my family, and nurtured a beautiful way of life into being. I have all of my customers, my amazing, big family, and our kingdom of love that we have fortified together, to thank for that. Because of this community that we have built, physically and online I have been given the space to nurture this flame.
To all the souls throughout the years, that I witnessed walking in heartache, and in grief, whom by the likes of their own wisdom, brought themselves to the river to drink. You've given me deeper meaning and purpose in what I do. Thank you for that, and thank you for all of my customers, who have a place in the landscape of my inner world.
I am so excited to see where my visions for my business, this project, take us. The fire is getting hotter!