From My Theater Days...

It is with a mix of emotions that I am posting today--I happened to come across some old photos a few hours ago and just couldn't resist putting them up here on my blog. All the shots on this page are from the glamorous days of my technical theater past! That's me on the left in the first picture cleaning goat's blood off a mattress--yes, there was a real (dead) goat in the show, and no, I have definitely not eaten any goat meat since!

That's me at the lighting board in the second picture--with the lovely Eric Dyer of Radiohole, of course! It is impossible to estimate just how many hours I spent at that light board, programming and designing dozens and dozens of shows. Some really wonderful things and people came into my life through the four years that I spent at that theater--it's where I met my boyfriend (of now almost four years!), and it's where I met and worked with countless amazing people from all over the world, many of whom I am still friends with to this day.

At the same time, it is also still painful for me to look at these photos and think back to that time in my life. My time at the theater ended when my job was eliminated, and when I was passed over for a promotion that would have kept me employed. It's the reason that I spent much of last year on unemployment, and the reason that I will never quite be able to think of the people I work with, as much as I may like them, as my "family" ever again.
But it is also, happily, the reason that Imprint By Eileen was born.

In my early days of unemployment, when I was consumed with sadness and anger, I started making jewelry to fill my days. There is something very meditative about making jewelry--part of it comes from working with your hands, from touching materials and turning them into something else, something beautiful. I started to find a great deal of satisfaction and joy in creating jewelry, and I started to wonder whether a jewelry company of my own was something that I could seriously pursue.

I lost my job on June 29th of last year, and it is nothing short of amazing to me that now, in less than two weeks, my company will celebrate its very first anniversary. When I think of the physical and emotional journey that I have gone on throughout this past year, I feel intensely proud, and I also feel excited and hopeful about the future. No, I don't make as much money as I used to make, back when I worked at the theater (yet!). And yes, I do sometimes miss working with other people. Some days, I even miss having a boss! (Hey, it can be tough to be responsible for every decision!) And I definitely miss the way a team of people usually managed to come together at the theater to create something beautiful. It was as exciting and satisfying as it was fun.

But everything I am doing now with my jewelry company has been created almost entirely by me, with my own hands. And I'm not just talking about the jewelry! When I needed a website, I learned how to make one myself. When I needed business cards and a logo, I figured out how to make those too. I have done my best this past year to develop my company as best I can. Which is also due, in no small part, to the wonderful friends and family who have stuck by me this past year, during some of my darkest hours. It is to these people--people who offered their money, their time, advice, skills, and emotional support--it is to those people that I owe my deepest debt of gratitude, and to whom my first year in business is dedicated.

I really can't wait to see how my company grows, or where it goes from here. But here, on this page....this is the story of where it came from.
Thank you all for being here to share this journey with me!
It means more than you know :)