Chelcie Wudtke of Elytra Textiles (pronounced el-uh-truh) is a Chicago-based textile designer specializing in small batch and custom hand-woven fabrics. I stumbled upon her work through Instagram and was immediately drawn to her color palette and unique designs. Fascinated by her process, I reached out to Chelcie to capture her in her element and to hear more about her story.
Read MoreIn September of 2017, the briskness of fall was fast-approaching, and I really wanted to make the most of our outdoor time. So my friend Devin Sutter and I decided to call some of our favorite people and see if they'd like to attend a small last-minute gathering. As luck would have it, they were all available.
One of my and Devin's favorite things to do is to create a beautiful experience for people – we prioritize community and ambiance. And that almost always involves flowers, food, and most likely, a libation. For this one, we went with an autumnal-inspired warm Apple Cider Old Fashioned.
Read MoreAlexandra (Allie) Sundet and I met at least six years ago at small group. Our paths have criss-crossed as acquaintances for over six years now, and I've always admired her journey from afar through church and social media. I finally got a chance to interview Allie about her faith journey, her work, and where they intersect.
She's a natural beauty with fantastic style and sense of humor. But more than those things, her heart for equality, ethical business, and tuning into her gifts to serve others is why she radiates.
Read MoreThis post is a long-time coming. A year in the making, technically. Much longer if you know who my Nana is to me. To say she is special is a grand understatement. I found I so badly wanted to do this justice – to provide you a proper glimpse. It held me back. So I finally gathered some thoughts and am releasing them here:
Read MoreLike many of you, my dear friends—Kat Finley and Devin Sutter—and I are often discussing our appreciation for food, style, aesthetics, and most importantly, community. Each of us has felt the call to do more passion projects and use our gifts to give back. We've worked on encouraging one another to not wait on making, playing, exploring, or bringing our visions to life, and we realized we had a special opportunity to collaborate in a different way. With inspiration from a five-senses art exhibit, we set out to find a place of natural beauty and peace, and we discovered the Ultimate Creator curating a sensory experience of our own at the Montrose Beach Dunes.
Read MoreGeraldine "Gerri" Ezeocha is from Nigeria, but she has lived in Chicago for almost 12 years. Yes, her fierce beauty is a force to be reckoned with, but it is the way she lives out the Word that speaks volumes about her heart. We met in her neighborhood of Edgewater one early summer morning where she shared with me about growing up early, building a home away from home, and learning to see and receive our Heavenly Father's goodness.
Read MoreBethany Squires and I met a little over two years ago through a mutual friend when she moved from Minneapolis to Chicago to begin working as a Music Therapist. For the past couple of years, we've witnessed Bethany fall in love with Chicago. My husband Andrew and I visited her in her apartment in Pilsen on a blustery and cool June evening to capture a bit of her songwriting process and to hear about her faith journey. We were blessed (for real) to film her on her beloved rooftop singing one of the songs she recently penned.
Read MoreChelli Look is the founder and creative director of the Chelli Harms Collection CHC. Her craftsmanship in her leather work is certainly evident in each piece she creates. My husband Andrew and I visited her studio in Ravenswood to hear about the story behind CHC and to capture a bit of how she works and worships through her hands. Click through to see how she stewards her business and uses her gifts to give back.
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