We had the good fortune of connecting with Christy Beulah Budnick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christy Beulah, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in the Northern Woods of Wisconsin. My parents fixed up an old hunting cabin on 40 acres on a little lake. It’s beautiful and I feel blessed to have grown up in the middle of the forest. We didn’t really have any close neighbors, so it was mainly my two sisters and I roaming the woods as our playground. This instilled a deep love of nature into my life from birth. Climbing trees, playing with plants, creating potions and chattering with animals was our normal everyday life. Of course there was also processing wood, taking care of the garden and shoveling snow to round out how to get by living in the woods. The lessons here were, theres always work to be done and there will be time for play once you’re finished. I believe this attitude helped me blossom into who I am today. Always willing to offer a helping hand, love playing in nature and expect people to treat eachother with kindness and compassion. I bring this history of life into my work. By bringing a little extra bit of nature into peoples everyday lives, I hope to spark a memory of freedom and joy they experienced somewhere along their journey.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am Beulah, The One Woman show behind C Beulah B Jewelry. I live deep in the forests of Upper Michigan and travel to hidden corners of the world where I find continual inspiration for my work. When I’m not creating art you can find me climbing mountains for sunset, splashing in Lake Superior, basking under moonlight or northern lights, singing to the garden and filling plates with delectable dinners. I invite you to my table of life, honoring our paths while nourishing our souls.

Each piece is hand sawn and fully created by my hands, even down to the earring wire and pendant bale. Handcrafted art is something to be cherished. Each piece slightly different, every saw stroke sawn with intention, all to create a piece of beauty for the wearer to love for a lifetime. Bringing moments found in nature to life by dangling along with you everyday, reminding you of those cherished memories is part of my mission. Hand sawing all my designs? Yes, I am hand sawing all of my designs! This method is called pierce and saw. I decide on my design, pierce a hole in metal, thread my saw blade through and begin. Bringing to life, beautiful silhouettes of the personal connections I have with great blue herons, wolves, bear, bison, sand hill cranes, willow trees, cattails, mountains and a wide variety of other plants and animals. Experiences I have in nature, come to life being expressed through my soul into my art. These creatures tell stories and bare witness to our growth and it’s my way of honoring them and the wearer. This is the root of my work, to bridge the gap between the existence of nature and the self empowered woman or man. We each hold our own journey and what a gift it is to celebrate the experience within a beautiful piece of wearable art.

The road has had its steep hills and shear edge cliffs for sure. A handful of years ago I had the painful experience of a house fire in which I lost most everything I owned, including most of my tools, stones and materials for creating my work. It took some time to recover from this, not only financially, but from the biggest artist block I’ve personally experienced to date. Im also not the most tech savvy, or as I like to say- Im not the greatest friends with the internet, which has made my online presence and finishing my website a major challenge. But, Im getting there and each task completed feels great.

Finding the shows that fit an artists work takes time. Time and some pretty sad shows- either due to weather or lack of sales. Theres a market for everyone, we each just need to crawl through the brambles to find the perfect shows to shine. Trying to find ones place in a saturated market is also not an easy task. Figuring out the best path for me and my business has been a roller coaster of finding my own freedom. It’s important to me that I am able to create work while traveling and to expand my business in a way that that feels ethical by all standards. By offering the finest of work honoring nature, using primary recycled metals and respecting our planet I am pushing myself to fulfill my words with action as I continually work towards sustainable business practices. C Beulah B Jewelry is a proud member of 1% For the Planet. Which means, 1% of all profit goes directly to nonprofit organizations who are on the ground, doing the work to balance our existence here on Earth. I worked for a non-profit watershed preserve for 7 years and have personally seen what can happen when larger organizations have your back. I’m grateful to have the pleasure of experiences both sides.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, I just happened to be that friend! I live in Michigan but was just in Denver for a best friends wedding. The favorite hike I did was to Little Blue Lake- the last mile is strenuous but so worth it and I had Little Blue all to myself! Mud Lake was a short walk and great spot for a dual on ukuleles and a snack. Although I havn’t seen a show at Red Rocks, I have hiked around it and the views were beautiful. I happened to fly in the day the copper got cut out of the train lines and found myself at Union Station 4 hours later than expected and hungry. So I stopped in to Jinya Ramen Bar and was blown away by their Spicy Creamy Vegan Ramen, I added the smokey broccolini and was in heaven. The night led me to Old 121 Brewhouse and every beer I tried was delicious. The ambience was simple and a perfect spot to catch up with friends.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

One of my mentors, Beth Millner, was a friend I went to college with in the mid 2000’s. I for photography, she for metal smithing. Some years after college she needed some help with the flourishing of her jewelry business. I at the time was creating wood-fired porcelain jewelry and fit the description of what she was looking for. I first was hired to help her in any way she needed- photographing her work, polishing, inventory, making earring hooks, running errands and yes, more polishing. My duties began to evolve after she decided to open a store front. While I still did these tasks, I also found my way into the studio. It was during this time with her where I learned most everything I know. Piercing and sawing, filing, soldering, prepping for shows, how to display and so much more. Being present with her during the transition of home studio to a larger business was a powerful lesson for me. She is an incredible business woman and I learned so much about valuing my time, honoring my knowledge and helping others along the way. We fell into each other’s lap and made magic. She’s fully supported me branching out on my journey and offered me the vast skillset to begin my own business.

Website: https://cbeulahbjewelry.etsy.com/

Instagram: @cbeulahb

Facebook: C Beulah B Jewelry

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.