Immortelle Bijouterie Evolution at the Ohio Renaissance Festival
Let me start with what a true blessing this festival has been to me. I am so honored and humbled to be a part of such an amazing community of vendors, owners, performers, staff and patrons who make this unbelievable festival what is. Each and every person you see with these titles are a vital part of what makes the Ohio Renaissance Festival the magical place it has become.
In 2015, I had a small and very unique shop in Waynesville Ohio. I was in a rented building that the owner neglected and would just not take care of. I ultimately closed my shop after a very brief tenure and decided to look for different options that did not leave me at the mercy of others.
I applied as a guest artist at the Ohio Renaissance Festival for the first time in 2016 and was given 2 guest weekends to showcase my jewelry. I ended up staying the entire run and a love affair was born.
Through the years, so many things have changed.
In 2016, I had a wonderful little cart that I bought specifically to use once I was invited to the festival. It was originally used at an amusement park and I had a new cover made for it and made many little changes to make it mine. I LOVED my little cart, set up under my favorite acorn tree but it did have MANY pitfalls. I had no shelter really, so when it rained...I was in a pickle. I had no way to escape the afternoon sun...so I was really miserable some days. I had to pack everything up and set everything up each day...this was ALOT of work. Needless to say, I knew that if I was going to be invited back, I needed a more permanent option...thus my quest for a new shop option began.
In 2017 this is where Luna came into my life. I found her on an auction site and about died when I saw her. I knew she was to be mine! A little bit of dickering and arranging transport and one day she arrived at my door. Luna became a huge and wonderful project for me...I nearly changed every aspect of her keeping some of the wonderful nostalgia built into her at the turn of the century. She was a safe space for me...she provided me shelter and I could lock her up and not have to tear down my displays every night. Little did I know that bigger things were in store.
In 2018 the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself. I was able to buy what was to become what I like to refer to as “my happy place”. When I bought this amazing building she was nothing more than a roof and deck but with a ton of love and most of my savings, I was able to reinvent her into a beautiful little enclosed Atelier focused on my jewelry and a few dresses.
2019
