HI I'M CARO

Craftshop runs a mini makers market for Infusion Tea once a month, where kids can come and sell their creations.

It's so important to foster creativity in kids, especially those that are brave enough, and entrepreneurial enough to sell to the public early on. Those are the leaders of tomorrow.

Come check out the creations for sale now at Infusion Tea's Co-op Shop and support your local creative kid.

Craftshop is supplied by products from local estate sales, online auctions, marketplaces and thrift stores. We also take donations of end of life books and magazines and give them another life as art therapy.

My second favorite thing after vision board parties with the girls is gifting items I thrifted and put together in a central theme, collected over time like the items were waiting for each other. 

Secondhand gifting is thoughtful and difficult, unless you live for the hunt, like I do.

Craftshop is a cabin in the woods in Freedom, New Hampshire at a YMCA girls camp called Camp Huckins. 

Camp has been an important part of my life, helping to shape my identity and life goals. 

Craftshop is a messy and chaotic, yet wholesome and calming place for campers who want to take a break from swimming, boating or sports field. Children check out supplies, have a cubby to store their work, and join in group creations during guided classes.

EXCEPT FOR MEN

Actually, the camp has really wonderful men that work there in harmony, side by side teaching horseback riding, waterskiing or maybe are spending a summer learning English as a second language in the kitchen or maintenance crew. Some are children of the staff, like I was, a Staff Kid. Spending all summer, every summer for 10 summers. Running around like a maniac under the pine trees, trailed by an Au Pair with the rest of the staff kids, away from men. It felt like a bubble, safe from the rest of the world. 

I believe women need to go into the woods more often. 

After opening Craftshop Orl, our private residence for crafty events, we have our eyes set on a semi-permanent secondhand goods store and craft studio, including a vision board bar complete with disco balls and djs for late night crafting parties.

Right now I'm celebrating the biggest win after having my son, which is hosting events and creating community from my home. Art is a catalyst for change and kindness is free and should our core human trait.

On a recent trip to Iowa City to visit a friend I had not seen in 10 years, these cards came up for me showing Marijuana and Palmetto plants. Pretty precise.

Over the past few years, I've tried different techniques to heal myself from past trauma and find peace with the world. Marijuana came after I tried different depression and anxiety meds which I only started taking in my early 30s at my breaking point. 

In my late 30s I tried THC and I haven't looked back. It's like I've been unlocked.  Then my friend introduced me to energy work. Since then I've been chronicling my life on camera and I hope to turn the reflection in to my first novel.

My professional background is in marketing: creative, brand and digital. I study audiences and products in detail and get obsessed with the customer journey. I like building something from the ground up. Learning and adjusting strategies get me up in the morning.

I am applying my marketing that I have sponged-up working for a swimwear brand, manufacturer, retailer and then hospitality giants Universal Orlando and Travel + Leisure Co.

I completely burnt out working in the Timeshare industry - It didn't suit my soul. Mea Culpa. I thought I could change it. It's not changing. Next!

What helped me come back to life was the support of my friends, and art. Connecting to my childhood self and the places that made me feel safe.

I'm going to help you get the friends together. No more wasting time on corporate BS. Let's get together, put good tunes on, drink some tea and survive this world together.