Your Votes Made Us Shine Brighter Than Ever

It’s been a few days since I found out Stargazer Goods was voted Best Jewelry Store in the Mid-Valley and I still keep going back to double check because I just can’t believe it.

Lately, my mind has been wandering back through the past. To the days in graphic design school when I wondered if I was good enough. To the moment I dropped out to have my daughter, thinking my creative dreams might stay just that, dreams. To the doubts I carried, and the doubts others handed me like unwanted party favors:

“It’s a nice hobby, but you can’t make a career out of that.”
“Who’s going to want to buy your jewelry?”
“You thought I wanted a handmade gift over store bought?”

Well, now I finally have my comeback to those echoes: I was voted Best Jewelry Store in the Mid-Valley by my community. My handcrafted jewelry is loved enough that strangers took the time to vote for me. Loved enough to bring customers back again and again to this local Oregon jewelry shop. Loved enough to inspire oohs, ahhs, gasps, and joyful little yelps. Loved enough that people get excited when they’re complimented on a piece and proudly name drop me.

I couldn’t have done any of this without Jordan, my partner in crime and my number one fan. I’m my own harshest critic, and when we first got together I was still fumbling my way through starting my jewelry business. Then we combined our dreams into a mega dream, and Stargazer Goods was born. Jordan talks about my work to others in a way that makes my heart melt. He’s been trying for years to get me to raise my prices, reminding me, “Your work is worth so much more than this, please stop selling yourself short.” He’s shown me that I’m capable of more than I believe and that my dreams are absolutely worth chasing.

So thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t have gotten this far without all of you: my customers, supporters, friends, and family. I still can’t quite believe that my little dream, my little market booth, my bad back from hunching over jewelry late into the night, and all my silly little ideas are beloved enough to be voted the best jewelry store in the Mid-Valley by this wonderful Oregon community.

Check out the winners here.