I will never forget when my son said, "Mommy....I picked you as my mommy before I was born."  How's that for saying something memorable?  

Kids say and do the most amazing things.  And every day with my kids brought more magical moments like this one. I tried keeping a scrapbook because I loved photography, but at the end of the first year, I had two whole scrap-booking pages completed.    

"A journal!" I thought. Surely I could (and would) write everything down that mattered.  Well, at the end of a year, I had four journal entries.  Not what I would call a huge success.  

All along I had been keeping height marks of my children the old fashioned way....on a door jam.  But we were going to renovate (lead paint in the old New England home), so I copied them down and vowed to find a growth chart that went with our family décor. And what happened for me...with this growth chart installed in my space was nothing short of miraculous.  Not only did I capture height marks when it mattered, I also had a journal that hung on my wall!     

Every time my kids did something memorable, I picked up a pen and wrote it down.   

My neighbors loved our growth chart so much that they began requesting different designs.  At the time, I was one of three master trophy fish carvers in the world and a four-foot tall, meticulously carved and painted fish was leaning against the wall in my painting studio.  Standing next to it, Nathan (age two) was dwarfed by the piece.  Struck by the contrast, Evelyn said, “Nathan, you’ll have to eat a lot of protein if you want to be as tall as that fish!”  

That was the moment Headwaters Studio was born.  I had been searching in vain for an elegant growth chart that I could hang in my kitchen -- a piece of artwork that would maintain its beauty and relevance even as my children grew up. Growth charts mark individual moments in time and capture our memories.  I wanted to design growth charts that were so cool, that if the house were burning down, it would be something you’d grab on your way out. 

 And it was Headwaters Studio and the blessing of creating heirlooms for others that brought me through the worst experience of my life.   

In 2012, my husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Seven months later, he died leaving our family bereft and me with two young children.  Being able to work in my business during the difficult years that followed was a blessing because I got to experience all the love my customers had for the children and grandchildren in their lives.  And making them something special filled my cup. 

Today, HWS is a family run business that caters to the celebration of life, family and friends.  We know how precious every moment is.