When I was four, I remember my mother sitting in the living room of our tiny home with my sister and I, teaching us how to sew basic doll skirts and plush mice. As I grew up, my focus shifted elsewhere, to painting, sculpture, and various other forms of fine arts, but my interest in sewing always remained. In 2006 or so, when I was 18, I wanted to make my then-boyfriend a unique and heartfelt birthday gift, so I decided to try my hand at making a "real" plushie for the first time. In doing so, I discovered that I really enjoy putting together the puzzle that is a plushie! Figuring out what shapes come together to form the physical realization of the idea in my head is REALLY exciting and rewarding, and being able to share that with others in a way that makes people happy is even better!
Fast forward a few years, and I was again making plushies for fun, giving them to family and friends. After a short while, they began encouraging me to open an Etsy shop, and a few months later I gathered my courage, took the plunge, and OneTrueTree was born!
Over time my focus has changed a lot; in the beginning I started out with felt owls and then moved to sweet monsters made out of faux fur and fleece, and then drifted in a different direction again. I feel that it's taken the exploration of these different ideas to narrow down where my true passion lies, and more recently it's led my interest to the fantastical world of art toys -- that happy medium between Art and Play. I think OneTrueTree will stay on that path for a while!
No matter the direction OneTrueTree takes, I hope that with my work I can bring a smile to as many faces as possible!
All of my products are handmade by me (sometimes with assistance from a sewing machine for things like doll clothing). Full disclosure: Occasionally my boyfriend, James, helps me with small tasks like stuffing when I'm in a time crunch, or being my "pliersman" by using pliers to help me push needles through a particularly tough bit of painted fabric after my fingers have become raw.