In 2007, I traveled to Kenya as a kindergarten teacher to help equip local teachers in a  deeply impoverished community. I came home as a different person. 

What I saw there wasn't just poverty — it was the lack of opportunity. Women working impossibly hard  with no path forward. Children eager to learn with nothing to learn with. I came home knowing I  couldn't go back to life as usual. I felt called to find work that actually helped — work that created  opportunity instead of just sending it. 

That call led me to Noonday Collection.

For more than a decade, I served as a Noonday Ambassador — building real relationships with artisan partners around the world. I traveled to twelve of our partnering countries, sitting in workshops, listening to astonishing stories of hope and resilience, watching crafts passed mother to daughter. 

I met widows building businesses. Survivors stepping into healing. Single moms whose paychecks were keeping their children in school. Refugees rebuilding lives in places I'll never forget. 

My husband Mike has been my faithful partner through every season of this work — hauling and hosting gatherings for good, championing the mission alongside me. Steady ground for a  decade of meaningful, beautiful, soul-changing work.

In 2026, Noonday's Ambassador program is sunsetting. But the work isn't ending — not even close. It's getting bigger. 

I'm opening my own next chapter: The Marigold Caravan. A curated home for handmade jewelry and accessories from women artisans worldwide. Still featuring Noonday at its heart, plus a small handful of additional makers I've personally chosen — women in fragile places doing dignified work, with their light rising. 

The mission is the same. The makers are still the makers. The circle is just widening.

And there's more on the horizon. I'm dreaming up trips for shoppers, hosts, and champions to travel with me to meet the makers in person. And a big dream, a mobile boutique — a real, festival-bright caravan that pulls up at markets, fests, and gatherings to bring the goods (and the stories) right to you. Can’t you see it?

Whether you've followed me from my Noonday years or you're just finding your way here today, there's a place for you in this circle. You can: 

Shop beautiful pieces from women whose names we know. 

 Host a trunk show and bring others into the circle. 

✨ Travel with us — first trip announcement coming soon. 

↓ Stay close through our emails and @marigoldcaravan on Instagram. 

Our community has the power to change lives around the world. I would be honored to invite you into  that story.