About
Hello, I am so happy to have you here in my shop! Let me tell you a little bit on how this all got started.
In 2006 while raising my small children at home in Alaska I started to sew toys. I made them for my own children at first, then my brother's children, my friends’ children, my neighbors’ children...I couldn't stop! The Pinecone Gnome was born.
Heavily influenced by my children and our time spent in the great outdoors of Alaska, I also wanted to make toys without plastics or chemicals as much as possible. I was amazed at what all could be created with only a few simple materials like wool, cotton, silk and wood. To this day that is what I still use to make most of my creations.
I hope to make heirloom quality, long lasting toys that can be enjoyed and passed down from generation to generation. Thank you for being a part of that journey.
Shannon
The start
One day, when I was about seven years old, a family from the Netherlands came to visit us. I remember the little boy and girl hugging onto two beautiful cloth dolls that were dressed in perfectly knitted outfits, designed with a Nordic pattern. I can still see those two dolls in my mind to this day! It took twenty-two years before I learned those dolls were called "Waldorf" or "Steiner" dolls, and better yet, I could learn how to make them! My creative style has since shifted from the more traditional dolls that inspired me so many years before, but I will always remember them in my heart.
I grew up sharing my childhood years between the great bush of Alaska and the beaches of Hawaii. My parent’s homesteaded land on a small private island located within the Lake Clark National Park in Alaska.
After a lot of hard work, they started a summer fishing lodge that brought wonderful guests from all over the world into our home. I was constantly surrounded by wilderness and amazing plants and animals. I couldn't have imagined a better way to live.
Spending most of my summer days barefoot, running on the slate rocks that covered the beaches and swimming in the glacier fed lake. I was quickly given the nick name "leather-foot" because of how tough my feet became.
I had a few friends that would visit me in the summer, but they could only be brought out in float planes. They would often stay with us for a week or two at a time.
My mother home schooled my brother and me until I was in the fourth grade. She had promised my brother that he could go to a traditional school starting in the Ninth grade at which point we moved to Hawaii. I started attending a wonderful Montessori School there and that was just what I needed for a very gentle transition from my home school life.
Hawaii fed me a whole new type of nature. Although at first glance it seemed completely different to me. I still had amazing plants and animals that surrounded me and I still chose to leave my shoes at home, but the water was a whole lot warmer to swim in!
While living in Hawaii I continued to spend the summers in Alaska and in 1996 moved back permanently where I raised my two wonderful boys. My family has been very supportive of my creative outlets and give me continued inspiration for my work.
I hope to be able to continue making dolls and toys for a long, long time and hope to never stop learning new techniques so that I can keep growing with this loving craft.
