In 2017 I started a small handmade jewelry line, SoLayne Designs. At that time in my life it really was my saving grace. My husband was in the throws of his professional baseball career and while I had spent 9 years training to be a dentist, I was staying home with our first daughter Parker. We were traveling the country as a family and it was impossible for me to work as a dentist.
As hard as it was for me to admit at the time, I did not thrive as a stay at home mom. I admire all moms who work full time INSIDE their home raising their children! I am one who is not cut out for that! I had all the freedoms I could want, and still I felt very unfulfilled every day. I adored my daughter (and still do! All 3 kiddos) but I needed something that felt like MINE! And at the time I didn’t realize it, but I really missed working with my hands.
Jewelry making was a skill I picked up at a high school job and so I jumped online and started ordering beads, wire, and tools. This hobby that started in a hotel room in NYC quickly turned into a full time gig. For a few years I ran my business off a custom website with seasonal collection launches and large boutique orders. But now, 3 kids later, I’m back to ETSY and doing mostly custom bracelet stacks.
In February of 2020 (just before the world shut down) our third daughter passed away at 32 weeks of gestation. And shortly after that we were all in isolation. During this time I started a custom bracelet collection that I called the JOY Collection. Not only did it allow me to wear all 3 of my babies on wrist daily, but it was a way for women to send encouraging words to friends and family during the hardest season of our lives.
The JOY Collection is still very much a passion project for me. You can order your custom stack HERE!
