About

Hey! I'm Courtney Colletta, the Owner, Crafter & Dreamer behind Fernwick Artisans. 

Living is Seattle, WA for nearly a decade (born & raised in Rochester, NY) I learned a ton of new skills & became an urban homesteader & wildcrafter. Moving away from the Barbering industry to become a Beekeeper, I found my calling in the candle making element of the business as an employee of Rainy Day Bees(check them out!). 

Having chosen a different in life brought out the very best of me. I chose to continue to live the way that brought me joy in a world seemingly on fire. Then I faced my biggest challenge yet, becoming a solo parent. Through a high risk pregnancy, a 10 week early & traumatizing labor, the immediately getting Covid & spending my first 2 weeks as a mother watching others care for my 3lb 12oz son via video chat we somehow made it through. Even though I hadn't even been able to hold my son before being discharged from the NICU due to testing positive for Covid, we bonded quickly once I got in & I basically lived there for the remainder of our 55 day stay. 

My son is an amazing light in my family. This child of mine has been through so much in such a little amount of time, but he is already the strongest & funniest guy I know. Though our path has been difficult we have made the best of it & we made it out.

I moved back home to my parents place in East Rochester when I was deemed incapable of working during my high risk pregnancy, I could hardly afford to live in Seattle as it was, it was impossible without an income. My parents took me in & cared for me. After the NICU I became a hyper vigilant mother. I was obsessed with my son & if he was breathing every moment & his safety, I have have still hardly been able to take him out mostly. But through some therapeutic gardening, some intensive EMDR therapy & focusing my energy on my beloved crafts I came to a place where I was ready for... something. I knew I couldn't return to a normal job, I needed to be home with my son. I'm not good at remote tasks admittedly & I wanted to continue on my path of joyful living. I started working my butt off to plant, grow & sell some plant seedlings & had a series of garage sales to raise the initial start up costs for my business. 

Starting in September 2023 I saw an immediate success & great response to my handcrafted products. You see I loved candle making, particularly molded beeswax candles. But molds were SO expensive. Then I saw my mother's crystal glassware with different eyes, I realized they would make such unique & stunning candles. So I learned to actually make my own candle molds & after trial & error & extensive testing I DID IT!! 

Now I have this website (HEY! THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!). But mostly I sell at local pop-up markets in & around Rochester. I even went so far as starting to organize my own pop-up events called the Village Makers Market of East Rochester. Now it appears I will be putting on a farmers market as well! WOAH! All within my first year of business. I am also in the process of renting a space to move my business out of my parents home, like WHAT?! As of April 15th I will have a creative space that can also be shoppable by appointment. I'll be able to host classes & small events as well. It will take a lot of strain off the family life too, running a business, parenting & running a household all in the same space has put a bit of strain on our family dynamics, understandably. 

I have seen success, made so many great new friends, been able to have an outlet that helps me bring me back to myself & made some seemingly crazy dreams become reality. I couldn't be happier with Fernwick Artisans & all the big things coming! I am immensely proud of myself & what I have accomplished so far.

Thanks for being part of the journey & taking the time to read this, you're amazing & I hope you know how much it means to me🖤

With my love & presence,

Courtney Colletta