My name is Jennifer and I live in beautiful Portland, Oregon with my husband of 17 years and our 7 year old who I affectionately refer to as "the boy."
I was born in Rhode Island, but grew up in Southern California from the time I was four. I am the product of plaid skirts and a lovely little private university because structure and a smaller crowd were always much more my speed.
Once upon a time I had dreams of being a single, career driven lawyer who never had children and did not marry until at least the age of 30. Instead, I married a man 9 years older than myself while I was in college and following graduation promptly entered the world of Telecom where I remain to this day.
The boy did not come along until 10 years after we got married, and I believe that my creative spark was rekindled not long after he graced our lives.
Evenings and weekends are reserved for all things non-technical. What that is depends on the day, but at any given time it can be reading, writing, internet surfing, photo processing, website tinkering and of course, jewelry making. Unfortunately, important things like laundry do not always get the attention they deserve.
I am practical by nature, but when I do allow myself to dream, those dreams are fantastic and cover a whole lot of ground. It is my wish that someday Cean and I can combine our dreams and create something wonderful that will sustain both our little family of three as well as our souls.
In the meantime, I soak up as much beauty as I can and use that inspiration to make pretty things that I hope people will love.
A few totally random things that I love:
- my family
- coffee & tea
- fashion
- music (especially Electronic)
- weather (particularly the tracking of it)
- writing
- houses
- books...books...and more books
- color!
- my laptop
- solitude (it's necessary for my sanity)
- unexpected kindness
- Daisy Beetle (my orange convertible bug)
- summer (it's my favorite season by far)
- hats
- loyalty
- a color-coded closet (but let's not talk about the state of mine right now)
- watching planes take off and land at the airport (added bonus: if one flies right over my head!)
- the little things in life
L'Essence Du Monde was conceived in the Spring of 2007. The concept was inspired by the song "32 Flavors" by Ani DiFranco, as well as by my French heritage.
One evening my Mom and I were brainstorming and I played her the song "32 Flavors" explaining that the meaning of the song resonated with me very deeply. We then set out to find the one word that would capture the meaning of the song, and my Mom came up with the word "essence."
We looked up the "official" meaning of the word and pronounced it to be perfect.
Credit goes to my fabulous Mom for coming up with "The Essence of People" and then translating it to what my little business is now known as, "L'Essence Du Monde."
Unlike specific characteristics that that make up an individual, "essence" is not definable and is quite intangible, yet we each have our own unique blend that makes us the beautiful individuals that we are. I hold this concept close, as I recognize that our essence is our soul.
In designing my "pretty things" I keep this mind. Each design is individual and as time marches on, I find that I am constantly attracted to new and different esthetics. My inspiration comes from a myriad of things and I am forever tickled when I look upon something seemingly ordinary and end up seeing a design in it. My designs are ever evolving, much the same way people are.
I sincerely thank you for taking time out of your day to visit my little corner of the internet and hope that you enjoy your time here.
