About Us

Just a few of the blanket designs that started it all....

The Handmade Heritage is a handcrafter's business owned by Rachel Martin.  A few years ago when the economy tanked and our household income disappeared right before our fourth child was born (rendering me unable to work), I decided to look towards the skills and supplies we had on hand to attempt to find some things to bring in a little income from home.  About the only thing I had left that we weren't using already was my craft supplies and some skills my husband and I were taught by family and friends.  So I decided to start looking for ways to sell some of the things we can make while supporting things that we are passionate about such as cultural and heritage based traditions like the crocheted blanket I was then designing for our newborn son.  And The Handmade Heritage with all of our chainmail and crochet jewelry, fun crochet animal hats, Cauldron Bubbles' products and information offerings, and so much more was born.

On a slightly more personally immediate note I know you are all looking for us to post something about us individually, so to appease the professional side:

John the chainmaille genius, and producer for the soaps and various wood-worked items.  He was a 19-year professional cook (working in kitchens ranging from fast food to 3 stars), before a recent job change that has him churning out millions of pounds of butter. He is a Master Gardener, and has studied Landscape Architecture at Utah St. University.  His professional goals include working towards certification programs in finished carpentry and welding as he works to build our own business.

Rachel (who is typically the author of this blog) is a self-employed crochet designer and work-from-home mom.  She has most recently also worked as a part-time instructional aide (think, T.A. or teacher) at a local elementary school teaching small groups intensive reading programs.  She is also a Master Gardener, amateur photographer, and general insane asylum director/circus ringleader (gotta love have young kids around!).

Shannon (picture to come later) is the mad chemist of the group.  Her educational background includes studies in chemistry, geology, hydrology, pedology, and limnology (in short, she spent her university career making mud pies very intelligently). Her current work involves coming up with innovative ways to teach science to youth and inspire families to learn together, all while spoiling all of us with her amazing additions to the business.

 Ok....now for a few tid-bits of randomness about all of us (yes, this has a great deal more to do with the real, and typically casual, persons that we are):

*Shannon is also a fantastic fiction author, and many of her readers happen to be from Canada so they love being referred to as the "Rabid Canadians" whenever they start enthusiastically requesting new chapters.
* Rachel simply can't stand fish...she is slightly allergic, but what is more so abhors the taste of it that she struggles forcing herself to eat cold turkey because it tastes enough similar yet is completely obsessed with everything Japanese (so long as it ISN'T their fishy food, lol).
* John is addicted to sugar...so severely that he's the one hiding the candy in different hidey-holes after different holidays to keep them secret from the kids rather than the other way around.
*Shannon is legally allowed to land a helicopter in an emergency....though she is very grateful she has never had to use said skill.
* Rachel's favorite date treat is a shake-night without kids...even during the coldest winter night.
* John's favorite recipe to make is pretty much his roasted turkey (trust me, he makes it for almost every holiday he can get away with and 90% of all of our kids' birthdays...and boy do we all appreciate it!)
*Shannon also happens to be deathly allergic to anything with caffeine in it (yep, folks, this is actually a rare but real condition). Needless to say, this has made doing R&D on our products with chocolate, coffee, or tea in it a more unique challenge though I know at least a few of you have been generous enough to help us compensate for that, hahaha. (In truth, if you're interested in helping us with such things be sure to let us know and we'll add you to the list.)
*Last but not least....John and Rachel's favorite catch-phrase for maintaining order in our household with 5 kids is to say we're "herding cats" as we shoo our adorable littles (and not-so-littles) between us and all of the activities we all go through to keep up with life.
(If you want more info about us, keep reading our posts...you'd be amazed how much information you can get about a person from the things they talk about.)

More than anything, this business is about family...with all the ups, downs, and craziness that always kicks in to keep things lively.  From our family to yours: thanks for making it possible for all of us to create a place where family, tradition, handmade, and history can all meet.

Photos courtesy of Shooting Star Photography and Pristine Photo.