About

Starrfish Studio was started because I love creating but need an outlet to share what I’ve made. For a number of years I’ve sold many items at a local artsy fartsy store here in central Florida but they have recently closed. That leaves me holding many pieces while also continuing to make more. Enter Starrfish. Starrfish is now my place to create and share what I make —through this website, art shows, and custom orders.   

My husband Gary is my partner. He’s also creative and very involved in the development of Starrfish. Not only does he contribute to the creative side but he’s also the muscles — the carrier of heavy props and tents and such— and the carpenter who builds all of that stuff. 

My daughter Madi is my assistant-extraordinaire. She keeps me organized and makes sure every item is prepped just so, keeping it all pretty and ready for new homes. 

I’ve been creating arts and crafts since early childhood. I remember gathering scraps of fabric from my stepmother’s sewing leftovers and yarn from her knitting projects.  I’d sit on my bedroom floor with needle and thread, sewing and gluing those leftovers until I had something come to life.   Puppets, animals, needlepointed pictures and so on. 

As I got older I expanded into sewing with a machine, making clothes and home decorations.  I’ve even done a good bit of reupholstering for myself and others. (Mostly others. I seem to have difficulty making things for myself). One of my bucket list items is to make a wedding dress from scratch. That hasn’t happened yet but I did alter a lot of wedding dresses a number of years back so I’ve gotten a taste for it. 

In high school I learned to draw portraits. Through college, I’d draw portraits for extra money. It’s not something I do often but I enjoy it and feel a great sense of satisfaction every time. 

I also learned crochet as a teenager. My first big project was a blanket.  I wasn’t used to the feel of the hook and yarn at first.  It’s apparent that I caught my groove along the way though as the blanket is tightly stitched at first and more loosely stitched at the end. It’s terribly lopsided but I love it.

Bottom line— creating with my hands is one of my favorite things. I have a day job so I don’t get to do it as much as I’d like but I squeeze it in whenever I can!

A few more of my important family members...  The big guy is Lucky, the little girl is Daisy, the Corgi is my grand-dog, Frankie, and the cutie in front is Starsky.