Perhaps the most terrible (or wonderful) thing that can happen to an imaginative youth, aside from the curse (or blessing) of imagination itself, is to be exposed without preparation to the life outside his or her own sphere – the sudden revelation that there is a there out there.

Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

THE CRAFT

There’s possibility in every object, and some are lucky enough to get multiple lives. My materials come from the pages of well-loved, used books and maps that I repurpose into whatever fits my fancy, and hopefully yours, too!

Growing up, I like arts and crafts as much as the next person, and I was lucky to have access to crafty experts in the family who encouraged and taught me along the way. Things got underway more seriously when my husband and I got engaged — getting married is so expensive, and I thought crafting our wedding flowers and decor would be a source for savings, as well as a personal touch for a writing teacher (me) marrying a librarian (him). Then the pandemic really drew out our engagement which meant I had even more time to fiddle, and some of my favorite products were born.

I hope these items, hand-crafted and designed over the last few years brighten your home or office and serve as a reminder that “there is a there out there,” just a few pages away.

THE CRAFTER

Hi, I’m Kiley. Once upon a time, I thought I would be a doctor. Like, a medical doctor. After 18 months of majoring in bio/pre-med, I realized I was cramming for organic chemistry while taking hours to draft and edit my French papers and that most of my friends came from the writing center where I tutored. It didn’t take long after that to realize that I wanted to write. As a lifelong bibliophile, reading has always been a constant companion, and putting words on paper has always been an enormous comfort.

Shortly after changing majors, I studied abroad for two consecutive semesters in Australia and then France, which cultivated a new love of travel and adventure. Once home in Ohio, I tried to hang on to that same spirit of openness, seeking new endeavors and things to learn — this led me back to school for my Master’s in Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language in Colorado.

Enter: My bookish husband + the craft beer scene. We met in Cincinnati in 2015 when the beer industry was beginning to take off and moved to Colorado where the industry has an established reputation. I’ve always enjoyed beer, but having dozens of breweries within a 15-minute drive heightened my passion for beer culture, and now my husband and I make it a point to find not only bookstores but breweries in each place we visit.

These days, I’m a writing teacher in Colorado, where I still live with my husband and our dogs, Frank One Blue Eye Wan Kenobi Sinatra (or Obi) and Lukaku Skywalker Hugs (or Lu). 

  • Camping in the Poudre Canyon with Will, Obi, and Lu
  • Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park with Will.
  • Harry Potter symphony date in Denver