Mini abodes

As with many designers during the quarantine in 2020, I decided to revisit some old passions and hobbies. I had loved dollhouses and miniatures as a child, admiring the grand and detailed old Victorians and the teeniest furniture.

My tastes have definitely changed, but the obsession with the small has not ebbed. I am still very new at it all but have started decorating and finishing dollhouses with a much more modern style. When I couldn’t find the perfect dollhouse or felt the off-the-shelf options weren’t quite right, I started doing it myself. I have gotten to the obsession level of laying my own herringbone wooden floors and created custom stone fireplaces out of cork bricks for an a-frame chalet dollhouse.

The Luscious Ladle

My husband Jonathan grew up pickling and making jam with his mother, who in turn taught me the magic of capturing the fresh summer and spring flavors to enjoy all year round.

We first started making jam out of some wild elderberries that grew along the river on his uncle’s Lodi vineyard and sharing with co-workers, especially at Pixar, where Jonathan works. It became so popular that we decided to start selling our elderberry and plum jam at the craft fair at Pixar along with some other flavors.

We sold out so quickly that we made over 300 jars the next year, 400 the next, and finally over 500 jars.