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About Us
I have always loved creating, and I have worked in lots of different mediums- watercolors, acrylic paint, pottery, sewing, cross-stitch, cooking, gardening.... I laugh that I am a “Jackie of all trades, master of none”!
The Farmhouse Studio began several years ago when I had some note cards printed up from my watercolor paintings. My art reflects my fondness for country life and traditional values of heart and home. I really love things that are homey and comfy and reminiscent of simpler days gone by. I love feeling that I can somehow connect the past and present with my artwork and products.
The Noble Wife also grew out of my love for creating and for all things pretty. It started a few years ago as a way to give meaning and purpose to my creativity and my life. One day during a difficult period in my life, I was reading a passage from Proverbs 31, and rather than being intimidated or overwhelmed by this description of a person who seemed to be a Superwoman, I began to think- I can do that.....
Proverbs 31
10Who can find a noble wife?
She is worth far more than rubies.
13She chooses wool and flax.
She loves to work with her hands.(I can do that...)
16She considers a field and buys it.
She uses some of the money she earns to plant a vineyard.
17She gets ready to work hard.
Her arms are strong. (I can do that, I like to work in the garden...)
19With one hand she holds the wool.
With the other she spins the thread. (I can do that...well not the wool spinning part, but I can dye it and cut it out and sew it back together again)
20She opens her arms to those who are poor.
She reaches out her hands to those who are needy. (I can do that...I have always wanted to help the poor, since I was a kid)
22She makes her own bed coverings. (Hey, I make quilts...)
She is dressed in fine linen and purple clothes.
24She makes linen clothes and sells them.
(I've done lots of craft shows in my time...)
25She puts on strength and honor as if they were her clothes.
She can laugh at the days that are coming.
(I can put my future in God's hands...)
26She speaks wisely.
She teaches faithfully.
30Charm is deceptive and beauty fades.
But a woman who has respect for the LORD should be praised.
(I can do that....)
And so on my sofa that day, I thought about some wool pins I had made while I was just messing around in my sewing room, and this idea dropped into my head....What if I made these pins and sold them and donated the money to buy sheep for poor people.... Wool... sheep...the needy....
Truly, I can't take credit for that idea. I'm sure it came from God. And while I was busy helping someone else, it seemed to pull me out of a deep, deep depression and reignited my passion for creating.
I have sold hundreds of those pins at craft shows, quilt shows, and through word of mouth. I have donated all my labor and most of the supplies. People think I am a really nice person for doing it, but the truth is, that left to my own devices I could possibly be the most selfish person in the world (or at least in the top 10). It is only my reliance on God and Jesus Christ that helps me to be better, softer, more loving.
Now, I did not name this endeavor The Noble Wife because I think that's what I am, it is simply what I strive to be. When people ask me if I am a Noble Wife, I truthfully tell them that some days are better than others!
Today, just as from the very beginning of this adventure, we run The Farmhouse Studio and The Noble Wife from our 150 year old farmhouse in rural southwestern New Jersey.
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