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