GRACE + BAY
I first had the idea for GRACE + BAY after walking into one of my favorite antique shops in Montecito and seeing an old weathered surfboard wrapped in dark wicker-like sisal.
What surprised me was not simply that I loved it - it was the immediate feeling that came over me. One of those rare, heart-stopping moments of inspiration where you instantly know you are meant to create something.
I felt an almost undeniable pull to make pieces that captured the feeling coastal life has always awakened in me - early morning sails through the bay, misty salt air drifting through the harbor, old wooden boats at the dock, surf culture, weathered textures, sun-faded stripes, anchor signs, chowder houses, beautiful seaside homes, and the kind of joy that somehow only exists near the water.
Even now, something in me lights up at the sight of it all.
What began with the Classics Series slowly evolved into more artisanal works as I became increasingly obsessed with color, texture, and creating custom hues that felt capable of holding memory, atmosphere, and emotion.
I spent countless hours experimenting with dyes in an effort to capture the essence of sun and sea, weather and time, beauty and ease.
No two pieces are ever truly the same. That is part of the intention. They are meant to feel collected over time - never manufactured.
Many of the boards begin as well-loved surfboards that have already lived full lives on the water. That part matters deeply to me. Long before they ever become art pieces, they have already carried joy, freedom, adventure, family memories, salt air, sun, and years of being genuinely loved.
Some were passed down from one child to another. Some spent decades in garages by the coast before somehow finding their way to me.
When selecting boards, I often feel as though each one already tells its own quiet story. In many ways, GRACE + BAY became not only about creating something beautiful, but about giving new life to pieces that already hold so much memory and soul.
At first, I began creating the pieces simply for my own home - wanting each room to carry some sense of calm, beauty, texture, and remembrance of the sea.
Over time, friends and neighbors began asking about them. Then came requests for living rooms, offices, seaside homes, creative spaces, and places meant for gathering and restoration.
What started as a deeply personal creative process slowly grew into something meant to be shared.
And perhaps because healing and ministry have also been such meaningful parts of my life, I cannot help but feel that a quiet blessing finds its way into each piece beneath the fibers. Most would never know it was there unless I told them - though interestingly, many later describe a certain feeling the pieces seem to bring into a room.
Every board is wrapped slowly by hand, inscribed with intention, and created as an offering to beauty, warmth, and the spaces we gather to live, rest, and remember what matters.
And now, somehow, GRACE + BAY has found its way to all of you.
Welcome to GRACE + BAY. A place where the light rests.
Love,
