In October 2023, a beloved family member experienced a severe mental health episode. I’ve watched helplessly as this illness has unraveled her physical health, fractured her family, and lead her down a heartbreaking path.

She has young children — and their grief and confusion has been palpable. All I could do was try to bring moments of peace — and that’s how we started crafting. Making bracelets became our shared escape, a meditative way to channel the heaviness into something tangible.

Those moments of creating—turning pain into something beautiful—sparked the idea for Hudson Taylor Gems. For me, this project is about alchemy: transforming grief, confusion, and loss into healing, presence, and connection.