Old State has always been a story about home… A story about roots, the kind that reach down through time and memory; and about growth, the kind that persists through both rains and droughts.
When I first started Old State, it looked a lot different. Some of you might remember the first ugly little tassels, messy flair, and bobbity-bits of handmade adornment I used to make. Over the years they transformed into what I proudly considered my art. I poured myself into each piece, and wanted each one to feel like its own unique treasure.
Old State became a force in my life. A force for good, and joy, and creativity, and independence.
But before I knew it, suddenly it felt like a burden. I felt like I’d somehow veered down a path that I couldn’t see the end of, that I couldn’t navigate the course of, and this force had a mind of its own and was carrying me into a certain ironically predictable, uninspired monotony.
And after months of vacillating between keeping on and giving up – I quit. I quit doing what was no longer calling to me. I stopped. But I didn’t give up.
Over this year, life and the land began to shift. I found myself drawn more deeply to my garden, the one my grandmother sewed and my grandfather built; to soil under my nails, to herbs hanging to dry, and to the slow rhythm of making things with purpose. What began as curiosity became a kind of practice. The garden asked me to listen, and eventually… to begin again.
Old State Garden grew from that listening. It’s still about making by hand, but now it’s also about living with the seasons, creating small rituals of care, and finding magic in the everyday. It’s a blend of handcrafting, of adding flair wherever it can be found… It’s inspired by herbalism, storytelling, and craft — a space for slowing down and reconnecting with what connects and inspires us.
In this new chapter, I’ll be sharing stories from the garden, recipes, reflections, and the handmade goods that grow from it all. If this speaks to you, I hope you’ll stay awhile and see what blooms here. And if the question still remains, “are you still making tassels and flair?” The answer, my friend, is yes. Quite soon, in fact! But I’ll be sharing a whole lot more than that too.
From my grandmother’s soil to your hands — thank you for being part of this beginning.