This week we we spoke with Sheena Marshall master jeweler and mother. To talk about the use of her hands in her work and life. Sheena will be having some of her pieces in the store and we are working on some custom pieces for the Hudson valley community coming soon.

What’s the most important thing your hands have ever made?

The first piece of jewelry I ever made. It sounds simple, but that little piece of metal completely redirected my life. I’d spent 15 years as an elementary school teacher, creative, entrepreneurial, always making or doing something. I’m not a sit-down kind of person. My brain moves a mile a minute and there’s always something churning, it’s just in my nature. But it wasn’t until I became a parent that something really clicked. I signed up for a metalsmithing class here in Colorado, started studying under a retired goldsmith, and made my first piece. I had no idea at the time that it wasn’t just a piece of jewelry. It was the first chapter of an entirely different life, one built around self-direction, community, flexibility, and daily passion.

Who or what do you hold close?

My female founder community, and I genuinely cannot overstate this. Every single opportunity I’ve had, press, wholesale, collaborations, connections, has come through a conversation with another woman-led brand or business. Not a cold email, not a paid ad. A conversation. I hold those relationships closer than almost anything in my business life. They’re beyond words, honestly. (Which is saying something for someone who talks about jewelry for a living.) I didn’t come from money. Everything I’ve built has been through hard work, leaps of faith, and going into every opportunity with the mindset that if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

What role does rest play in your creative process?

I used to fight it, and paid the price in my mind and body. Now I listen to it because it’s too important not to. Have you ever stopped to really listen to your body? What it craves, what it needs to heal? These days, when I feel a creative surge I lean all the way in, sketching, making, experimenting. And when I don’t, I’ve learned to use that time for the less glamorous but equally important stuff: the spreadsheets, the strategy, the emails that keep the lights on. Rest isn’t laziness. It’s just knowing which gear you’re in on any given day.

What’s a ritual that helps keep you grounded?

Getting outside, every day, without negotiation. I recently adopted an Australian Shepherd puppy who has made sure I stay accountable on that front. Natural light, fresh air, moving my body, it resets everything. Colorado makes this embarrassingly easy, which is part of why I’m still here. You can’t stay in your head too long when there are mountains in your eyeline. And honestly, you can find this wherever you are: walk to a sunny coffee shop, sit in the park, just get out. It’s worth it.

When was the last time you truly surprised yourself?

Recently, actually. I’m in the process of closing my Denverlocation, and for a minute I thought, is this the end of my brick-and-mortar chapter? But instead of a full stop, it became a question mark. Now I’m searching for a bigger space, one that can actually hold the community I’ve been trying to build all along. Turns out closing one door just meant I needed a bigger one. That’s pretty on-brand for me. I’m always thinking about the next adventure. Staying stagnant just isn’t in my nature. I’m basically the human version of my Australian Shepherd.

Who would you most like to high-five right now?

Every woman who built something from scratch, kept going when it got weird, started a family and felt like throwing in the towel, and then turned around and opened a door for someone else anyway. Specifically? The entire ecosystem of female founders who operate on the belief that there’s enough room for all of us. You know who you are. The high-five stands.

What do you hope your work passes on to others?

A few things. The obvious one: beautiful jewelry with a clear start and end life cycle, pieces made from recycled metals, in small batches, with intention. Nothing destined for a landfill. But beyond the object itself, I hope people feel the why behind it. That buying something handmade is a small but real act of choosing differently. And more than that, I hope Sheena Marshall Jewelry becomes a place that genuinely brings women together. That’s always been the deeper mission. The jewelry is just a beautiful excuse.