Handcrafted Artisan: Meet the Maker: Marissa and Cody from Bless the Herbs

Hi Friends. How are you? How was the rest of your week? Doing anything fun for the weekend? We have a pretty quiet weekend which is nice after having visitors every weekend in November. We took the kids over to Penn State University to visit their Model Train clubs open house display. It was really neat. They even gave the kids a chance to drive the trains. I would love to hear from you what you have been up to.

It's time for another Meet the Maker. Today's interview is with Marissa and Cody from Bless the Herbs. Without further ado, let's meet this duo.

My name is Marissa Miller, and my life and business partner is Cody Cook.
We live and are natives of Arvada, Colorado.
Our company is nearly a year old now, but we have been crafting our entire lives. I love to draw, sculpt, and collage! Cody enjoys ceramics and metalsmithing.
After pursuing art our whole lives we were moved to start this company.

The name of our shop is often misleading when people first hear it. No, we do not sell marijuana; Cody's concept behind the name "Bless the Herbs" was derived from his Pagan practices where many herbs are used for sacred purposes.
I myself am agnostic, while Cody identifies primarily with Wiccan and Pagan beliefs. He likes to incorporate aspects of his beliefs into his wire wraps, giving particular stones and coils a purposeful and specific meaning.

We opened up our online Etsy shop at the beginning of this year and it received quite the response, so we branched out to other forms of social media and eventually even vending at festivals! We were drawn to selling online because the internet seemed like the best way to reach a wide range of people who would be interested in buying our hand-crafted products! We sell primarily on Etsy, Instagram, and Facebook. We sell at the local gem and jewelry shows here in Colorado. Our favorite venue for selling so far would have to be the annual gem and jewelry show hosted here in Cripple Creek, Colorado. However, I do enjoy the awesome group of ladies who host weekly Instagram auctions with us.

There's a lot of awesome things happening on our Instagram right now, including a bidder's-only giveaway where every bid made on one of our auction items gets you one entry into the giveaway! (Prize revealed this Tuesday).

This is our full-time occupation at the moment, besides rockhounding and mining our own crystals! It's good having our own direct source of crystals as we cut our own designer cabochons. Our hope for this company in the future is to grow and make a full-time living doing what we love!

My favorite piece I ever made would have to be my Captain Spaulding Polymer clay pendant which featured two faceted aquamarines in his bowtie! (Captain Spaulding is a fictional clown/murderer from The Devil's Rejects; a film by Rob Zombie). Cody's favorite piece he ever made was a 10+ stone Pendant wire wrapped in solid sterling silver which he sold a few months back.

We don't give to charity at this time, but if I were to donate to a charity it would most likely be St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital or the Dumb Friends League here in Denver. I believe children are the future and no family should have to pay for cancer treatment for their child. Also, we are huge into animal rights.

If you plan on starting a handmade business one piece of information we would like to share is to be 100% confident in your work and believe in your worth!

You can find us on the following social media platforms:
1. Instagram: @blesstheherbs
2. Facebook: @blesstheherbs or facebook.com/blesstheherbs
3. Etsy: www.blesstheherbs.etsy.com
4. You can email us with inquiries/custom orders at blesstheherbs@gmail.com

Thanks for sharing Marissa and Cody it is so great to meet you both. All the best for your business.

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Upcoming Events:

Winter Salon Shopping Event: December 6, 5-8 pm J. Rose and Co. State College, PA
Wacky Wednesday Sales: currently until December 20.