Restoring Balance

I am an artist and a healer.

I was told to say this to myself whenever I felt doubtful. As a solo business owner of now *two* businesses, I have had my fair share of doubt and overwhelm while in the depths of navigating the unguided roads of entrepreneurship. 

I am a Doctor in Physical Therapy by degree and by primary business. I help both men and women restore their body from any sort of issue, from chronic tightness, acute injuries, long time aches and pains, weakness, you name it. I like to describe it as a clinical art.

I still practice full time on select days of the week -- all virtually, since the pandemic -- and love being a clinician. It is a honorable job and I absolutely adore witnessing my clients transform over weeks, to months, to years. It is a giving job, and I'm lucky to have it.

During the pandemic, I had to reinvent my business fast while transitioning my life across the country from San Francisco to Boston to New York City. Without an outlet or any certainty to hold on to, and with all the stress, I became so depleted I wanted to quit.

What saved me was the decision to get creative again and find a jewelers bench in New York City. Something that would get me out of my apartment every week and into the bustling streets. One weekly 3 hour slot of quietly playing with wax, gold, and fire filled me up faster than anything else I'd tried before.

The energy I had been hemorrhaging through pandemic was finally starting to neutralize and it wasn't until then I realized how necessary creative work was for me. It was a "me time" where I wasn't leading, guiding, or even squinting on a screen for hours. My mind felt calm and my body felt peace.

Even though I'd made jewelry years prior, I never showcased it or made it public because I was still learning. I was also much more timid about my creative pursuits. This time, however, I spontaneously decided to make an instagram page, throw together a website -- a skill I mastered after revamping my PT website in 2020 -- and list my newest pieces. Within weeks my energy and vitality was back, and I had ten orders!

I now make pieces for myself and others through this page, as well as take custom orders privately, per my availability. One of my favorite things is taking a clients old heirloom jewelry and restoring it into something new and modern. I also love that I can work simultaneously as a healthcare worker and as a jeweler. 

Two very different industries, yet both healing and artistic in their own right.

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