Honoring Times Well Loved
My favorite things live in memories, and in the objects that bring those memories back to life. An inherited piece of furniture, an old photograph, a hand-sewn quilt, a treasured family recipe, or an heirloom passed down from someone you loved. I believe there is beauty in a rich history and something deeply valuable in a life well lived.
That is the heart of Patina Rabbit: honoring times well loved and carrying their warmth, beauty and stories into today.
Where It All Began
I grew up on a farm surrounded by a wonderfully big family. Both of my parents came from large families, and I had three older brothers and a bunch of cousins.
Family was everyday life.
Ours was an old-school upbringing grounded in faith, hard work, and taking care of one another. There were everything from Sunday dinners with homemade food to sporting events, and a whole lot of laughter throughout.
There wasn't anything particularly fancy about it, but it was incredibly rich.
A Little Rugged, A Little Refined
My mother was a talented seamstress who smocked and handmade my clothes when I was little. But with all those cousins, hand-me-downs were simply part of growing up, too.
Maybe that's why my own style has always been a bit of a mix. I can appreciate a beautiful handmade dress just as much as blue jeans, a soft graphic tee and a cozy, ragged old flannel. I was a farm girl who loved building forts in the woods, but I could enjoy getting dressed up for a fancy social event, too. I love beautiful new things, but I also love finding beauty in things that are weathered, worn and full of character.
Creating Was Always Part of the Story
My love of art and design became my career, taking me from designing NASCAR T-shirts to illustrating unicorns for children's patterns and graphics for a private-label clothing line.
Along the way, I returned to another lifelong love… painting… and eventually discovered jewelry making, giving me yet another way to bring together color, texture and design.
And that's where Patina Rabbit began.
The Stories We Carry
Some of the vintage photographs you'll see throughout Patina Rabbit aren't stock images.
They're my family.
The young woman on the beach featured on my Salt & Patina Carolina Girl tee is my mother when she was a teenager. The man on the tractor on my homepage is my dad. And my Uncle Calvin, whom I never had the chance to meet but came to know through family photographs and stories, has found his way onto one of my tees.
Both of my parents are gone now, and I miss them dearly. But I still carry the life they gave me: the memories, my faith, my values and deep sense of family that helped shape who I am.
There's something especially meaningful about the mother who once handmade clothes for her little girl now appearing on something that little girl grew up to create. Though I have to smile... my very modest mother probably wouldn't approve of all the attention!
And Then There's Salt & Patina
If Patina Rabbit grew partly from the farm, the woods, my family and my love of things with history, Salt & Patina grew from my love of the beach and crystal-clear turquoise waters.
Being in the water is where everything else seems to disappear. I feel free there; peaceful, weightless and wonderfully uncomplicated.
That goes back to childhood, too. I was enchanted by mermaid lagoons, tropical islands and faraway places. If a movie had a mysterious lagoon or hidden island, I wanted to live there. I even remember a James Bond movie with an island hideaway that looked just about perfect. And apparently, the life of Tarzan was part of my plan too. Maybe that's why I've always loved drawing and painting things like mermaids. To me, the mermaid isn't simply a pretty coastal image. She represents being footloose and fancy-free, a wild imagination, and that wonderful feeling of being at home in the water. She's a little mischievous, a whole lot of fun and never too polished.
And that mermaid? She's been swimming around in my imagination for a very long time.
Why Patina?
Patina happens over time. It's evidence that something has been touched, weathered, treasured and loved. Time doesn't necessarily diminish its beauty. Sometimes time is exactly what creates it.
Patina Rabbit isn't about recreating the past. It's about carrying the good things forward, the craftsmanship, character, creativity and simple pleasures that make life meaningful.
Creating new things with old souls. Finding beauty in imperfection. And surrounding ourselves with things that mean something.
Well made. Well used. Well loved.
Welcome to Patina Rabbit.
Honoring times well loved.
Carrying their warmth, love and beauty into today.
