Twenty-seven chapters. Hundreds of handmade pieces. So many little eras I never want to forget.
I've been making things for Olive + Arrow for years. The collections have changed, the materials have changed, and I definitely have changed. But until recently, so much of that creative history was scattered across old listings, folders of photos, and memories of the collections I loved most.
So I decided to give it a home.
Introducing The Olive + Arrow Archives: an ever-growing, chronological scrapbook of the designs, experiments, happy accidents, and very particular little obsessions that have shaped my handmade business.
It all started with yarn.. Really!
Long before the polymer clay earrings, the bag charms, the vintage silverware.. there was knitting. Hats, cowls, patterns, stitches upon stitches, the earliest Olive + Arrow years looked completely different from the shop you see today. Then came fiber art and wall hangings, followed by those very first polymer clay collections in 2020.
Looking through the old photos makes me smile. I can see the techniques I was learning, the risks I was starting to take, and all the little details that eventually became part of my style. The work isn't supposed to look the same from one year to the next. That's the point.
The summers I still think about.
Some collections hold an entire season inside them. Barbie Summer 2023 was pure joy.. vintage Barbie inspired earrings, bright colors, glitter, disco boots, and the kind of creative excitement I never wanted to end. Then there was Bridgerton Summer 2024: wisteria, pearls, lace, floral moons, and even a few House of the Dragon-inspired pieces. Both collections were so much fun to make, and customers loved them, too.
And of course there are the Falloween years. Each October brought its own tiny world of ghosts, moons, bats, florals, favorite movie references, and slightly ridiculous ideas that absolutely had to become earrings.
Not every chapter was easy to revisit.
Creating these Archives wasn't just about celebrating favorite designs or big launches. Some years were difficult. In the spring of 2022- I lost my dog Jackson.. I worked through that grief by creating and the Jackson Collection was born. Then, in late 2024, I lost two more beloved pets, Mojo and Brady, only weeks apart. The months that followed were full of grief, and there were stretches when I was making things quietly but couldn't manage the energy it took to photograph, launch, market, and sell an entire collection.
Those chapters belong here, too. I didn't want to rewrite them into a neat, happy story. I wanted the record to be true to the life happening around the work.
And then there are memories that feel warm all the way through. When I look at Falloween 2025, I remember Augie nearby, a studio full of ideas, and the wonderful feeling of finding my rhythm again, not only creating, but sharing my work with the world.
A scrapbook of my creative journey.
Every Archives chapter is a visual lookbook with original product photography and the names of the pieces as they appeared in my shop. It's meant for wandering, reminiscing, and seeing how Olive + Arrow has evolved, not for announcing that every design is gone forever.
Some pieces might still be available. Some might come back. Others live here as little time capsules of their era. This is the history of the work, not a goodbye to it.
Here's to all the beautiful little eras still to come.
The Archives currently span 27 chapters, from the knitting years through Wicked For Good, and they'll keep growing as new collections become part of the story. I'm so happy to finally have one place where I can see the journey laid out in front of me.
If you've been here for years, maybe you'll recognize a favorite. If you're new, I hope you'll enjoy seeing where it all began. Either way, thank you for being part of this wonderfully weird, colorful, sentimental handmade adventure.