About the Artist
I started making jewelry when I was six, but I have been horse-crazy since I was two years old. I have also always loved art and drawing. At age nine, after three years of raising and saving my money, I bought my first horse, Sparky, a palomino Tennessee Walker. I began going to local shows, and a year later, I traded Sparky for Thumbelina, my then “green” (untrained) Paint x Haflinger pony who has taught me to be the determined and patient rider/person that I am today. For the first month I owned her, I rode ThumbeIina in a halter and bareback because we could not find a saddle wide enough to fit her. Also, Thumbelina did not know how to canter under saddle or pick up her hooves to be cleaned out. Teaching her these concepts in turn has taught me more life lessons than I can count. In addition, she and I learned to jump together, resulting in an element of trust that is difficult if not impossible to replicate. I have had “Thumb” for seven years now, taking her to everything from local shows to Pony Club Championships.
I believe in sharing the love and giving back to the community, so I loaned Thumb to the local equine therapy organization, Stride Ahead. I also spread the love by giving my friends personalized, hand-made gifts for their birthdays, as both I wanted to make a unique and special gift as a thoughtful gesture that would last more than a store-bought one, as well as I did not want my parents to have to pay for my friends’ birthday presents. I soon began making Christmas presents for my friends, such as personalized horse brushes. I also made them browbands and natural horsemanship lungelines to save them money and add a little pizzazz at the same time. Most of the time I think of an idea or see something cool, and I think, “I bet I can make that!”, or a friend will see a neat item and ask if I can make it for them; thus Spotted Gecko eventually came to life.
As far as riding, Thumb’s and my passion is mounted games, an equestrian discipline where teams of four to five riders and ponies compete head to head in relay races. Last March, after more penny pinching, I bought an Appaloosa project pony who I named Annie (who is currently for sale - please see Annie's page, found here: ). I will be lending Thumbelina to the Mounted Games World Team Championships, which will be held in July 2015 at the Kentucky Horse Park, as the organization hosting the event, USMGA (United States Mounted Games Association), needs ponies to loan to the teams traveling from Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, Britain, and many other countries.
I recently tried out for and made an International team that traveled overseas to Dorset, England to represent the U.S. at a two-day competition last August. It was my first time on an international team, and my first time out of the country. The experience was incredible, and the cultural exchange was both educational and exhilarating. To help fund the trip, I used the money raised from Spotted Gecko Designs sales.
All sales help to pay for Annie and Thumbelina's board. : )
About the Company Spotted Gecko Designs got its logo from a wooden lizard that I decided needed sprucing up, so I painted it as a project in 8th grade art class. Spot the Gecko represents three primary influences of the company - all green in different senses. The engraved jewelry I produce is made of recycled aluminum (the ends of food tins/containers), so those items are green in the sense of recycling and reuse. Mother nature and animals are another major influence, as is visible in the many horse designs and animal oriented items. Lastly, I try my best to not gouge customers, instead keeping the green in their wallets. I value a good deal, and I would not want to own a company that does not represent that.
I have always been a creative and economically-minded person, and today I strive to combine these two concepts by bringing innovation, style, quality, and exceptional value together in the form of Spotted Gecko Designs.
All sales help to pay for Annie and Thumbelina's board. : )
Links:
My Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpottedGeckoDesigns
My Blog: https://www.spottedgeckodesigns.blogspot.com
My Twitter: coming soon!
My Facebook: coming soon!
USMGA (United States Mounted Games Association) - https://www.usmga.us
IMGA (International Mounted Games Association) - https://www.mounted-games.org
WTC (World Team Championship 2015) - https://www.wtc2015.com
USPC (United States Pony Club) - https://www.ponyclub.org
SRPC (South Region Pony Club) - https://www.southponyclub.com
CHCP (Cohutta Highlanders Pony Club) - https://www.cohuttahighlanders.com
Stride Ahead - https://www.strideahead.org
I believe in sharing the love and giving back to the community, so I loaned Thumb to the local equine therapy organization, Stride Ahead. I also spread the love by giving my friends personalized, hand-made gifts for their birthdays, as both I wanted to make a unique and special gift as a thoughtful gesture that would last more than a store-bought one, as well as I did not want my parents to have to pay for my friends’ birthday presents. I soon began making Christmas presents for my friends, such as personalized horse brushes. I also made them browbands and natural horsemanship lungelines to save them money and add a little pizzazz at the same time. Most of the time I think of an idea or see something cool, and I think, “I bet I can make that!”, or a friend will see a neat item and ask if I can make it for them; thus Spotted Gecko eventually came to life.
As far as riding, Thumb’s and my passion is mounted games, an equestrian discipline where teams of four to five riders and ponies compete head to head in relay races. Last March, after more penny pinching, I bought an Appaloosa project pony who I named Annie (who is currently for sale - please see Annie's page, found here: ). I will be lending Thumbelina to the Mounted Games World Team Championships, which will be held in July 2015 at the Kentucky Horse Park, as the organization hosting the event, USMGA (United States Mounted Games Association), needs ponies to loan to the teams traveling from Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, Britain, and many other countries.
I recently tried out for and made an International team that traveled overseas to Dorset, England to represent the U.S. at a two-day competition last August. It was my first time on an international team, and my first time out of the country. The experience was incredible, and the cultural exchange was both educational and exhilarating. To help fund the trip, I used the money raised from Spotted Gecko Designs sales.
All sales help to pay for Annie and Thumbelina's board. : )
About the Company Spotted Gecko Designs got its logo from a wooden lizard that I decided needed sprucing up, so I painted it as a project in 8th grade art class. Spot the Gecko represents three primary influences of the company - all green in different senses. The engraved jewelry I produce is made of recycled aluminum (the ends of food tins/containers), so those items are green in the sense of recycling and reuse. Mother nature and animals are another major influence, as is visible in the many horse designs and animal oriented items. Lastly, I try my best to not gouge customers, instead keeping the green in their wallets. I value a good deal, and I would not want to own a company that does not represent that.
I have always been a creative and economically-minded person, and today I strive to combine these two concepts by bringing innovation, style, quality, and exceptional value together in the form of Spotted Gecko Designs.
All sales help to pay for Annie and Thumbelina's board. : )
Links:
My Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpottedGeckoDesigns
My Blog: https://www.spottedgeckodesigns.blogspot.com
My Twitter: coming soon!
My Facebook: coming soon!
USMGA (United States Mounted Games Association) - https://www.usmga.us
IMGA (International Mounted Games Association) - https://www.mounted-games.org
WTC (World Team Championship 2015) - https://www.wtc2015.com
USPC (United States Pony Club) - https://www.ponyclub.org
SRPC (South Region Pony Club) - https://www.southponyclub.com
CHCP (Cohutta Highlanders Pony Club) - https://www.cohuttahighlanders.com
Stride Ahead - https://www.strideahead.org
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