Before we can delve into my personal story we first must go back to the very roots of Hand of Shand.

The Hand of Shand was first termed by my great grandparents, Harold & Emily Shand over 40 years ago! With extreme patience, care and attention to detail, they created beautiful butterfly arrangements which they shared with friends and family.

Raised by a set of creators, my grandfather, Ed Shand, carried on this legacy as early as 16 when he took his first woodworking class. Not being limited to the medium of wood, he worked a full career at Oldsmobile and during that time collected and restored many cars for fun. He is the definition of a "jack of all trades" and is a proficient electrician, plumber, mechanic, baker, woodworker and general crafter. 

His life partner of over 50 years, Janet, complimented his creative talents with her own! Being a seamstress, painter, and general craftswoman, they made a perfect pair and team. Together over the years, they shared this craft with their children and grandchildren and were sure to provide many opportunities for shared creation!

I was raised to be a hands-on kind of girl. From cutting firewood, to home renovation projects and gardening, to building rock walls and dams; there was always a project that needed to be done. Through this I established my love for getting outdoors, my want to work with and for my community, and learned how to work hard to accomplish whatever needs doing. But despite my hands-on upbringing, my inclination towards working hard presented itself in other ways...

Instead of pursuing the path of creation, I chose to study Math and Computer Science, with a minor in Environmental Geology, at the University of Michigan. While I never truly found myself inspired or impassioned by my STEM studies, I was more concerned with financial stability, employability (and maybe proving those high school counselors wrong!) than I was pursuing happiness. After graduating, I "sold my soul" to Corporate America where I worked as a business analyst and manager with a heavy focus in data analytics.

It is clear from this, that "Math Nerd" is a deserving title. But what may not be clear from this is how much unfullfillment I felt.

As many young adults, this early boarding of the fear-fueled hedonic treadmill lead to the all too common "quarter life crisis" when I finally had some financial stability but no personal fulfillment. 

And I stayed in this quarter life crisis for about 2-2.5 years. I self reflected, focused on my mental health, mapped out my strengths, made a lot of potential plans and kept making vows to do something different. But as a wise man once told me "You're going to get a lot further running TOWARDS something you want, than running AWAY from something you don't want." I didn't know what I wanted to run towards. So I remained stuck.

It wasn't until a friend showed me The Great Pottery Throwdown that I realized pottery was something I wanted to try. I signed up for a class and became instantly hooked! Only a mere 3 months after starting my first class I bought a wheel. But you know what happens when you give a mouse a cookie.... 

I started building out my home studio, practicing when I had time outside of work. At the same time I was building out my wood workshop in my garage and was working on the never ending list of house projects. It proved too much and so in November 2022 I decided to quit my corporate job to learn and pursue pottery and woodworking. I am learning woodworking from my grandfather and learning pottery with the help of others on the internet and hopefully through community mentorship and additional classes in the future! 

While still new, I am excited to bring my love of learning, passion for spreading smiles, and openness to the unknown to the creative community!