About Me

Formally known as Bittersweet Gems.

Hey All! My name is Jaz!

Like a lot of people, I found a hobby during the COVID pandemic. I lived in Los Angeles at the time and started working with resin. I really enjoyed it, however it was very messy and toxic. I tried selling my items at vendor events in LA but I didn’t really have a lot of success. It seemed like everybody in LA wanted name brands and high end products, not handmade crafts. It was costing me so much money to live there and trying to start up a side business seemed impossible financially.

As I was entering my thirties and approaching a decade of living in Los Angeles, I started questioning a lot of things going on in my life. I quit a job that I had been at for ten years because my boss, who had all male employers except for me, started being exceptionally rude and unfair in the work environment when Trump got elected for office. He felt that is was okay to start treating me worse and got in my face, slammed my desk, and told me I was replaceable. So I walked out. At this same time, I thought I was in a loving relationship going on two years and with someone who would support me in making this life changing decision. Especially him knowing I might not be able to make my rent now and taking a massive pay cut from starting all over. He agreed we could finally move in together. After another year, I was drowning in debt, about to get evicted from my apartment because I was constantly late with my rent, and my “loving” boyfriend never did anything to make that move happen. He helped out financially which I was very grateful for but that is not what we agreed upon. When I decided to have the conversation of “Where is this relationship going?”, he flipped out and left me on the side of the road, 40 minutes away from my apartment, and dumped me. I took him on a date for this conversation, swan paddle boats in Echo Park. Thought it would be nice and quiet, with no phones, where we could have a serious conversation with no distractions. Well, the only thing he could focus on was me “trapping him” on this boat. He said it was the worst thing anyone has ever done to him. Such a man child.

Shortly after this breakup, I kept asking myself again, “What am I doing here?”. I spent my twenties here which was fun but people are on to the next shiny thing constantly and the rat race was getting old. So I decided to leave. My mom lived in Joplin, Missouri which I honestly thought was the worst place I could go. Not because my mom lived there but because it was “Misery” as they say. I thought I would move in with my mom for a few months until I figured out what I wanted to do next. Much like the pandemic, I now had a lot of free time on my hands and needed to find something to fill my time. So I started playing around with polymer clay and it became very therapeutic for me.

My mom told me about something called Third Thursday where a bunch of vendors and local businesses come together once a month in downtown Joplin. I signed up and was so grateful to see how many people loved my designs. Not just looked at them, but actually supported me as an artist. I started diving more into community events and ended up finding a community of my own with a big support team. Amongst these people, I found the man of my dreams. At a time where I swore off dating all together. I also found my dream job that I had always wanted which was to work as a veterinary technician. Everything was really coming together in a place I never planned on staying at.

I didn’t realize that living in a small town had so many opportunities as a handmade crafter. So many events in surrounding areas all throughout the year. The more I signed up for them, the more I started feeling motivate to create more. The support was overwhelming at some of these events and the best feeling was when I had repeat customers looking for me at other events! It really warmed my heart.

I have people ask me, “Do you regret leaving Los Angeles?”, and the answer is no. LA was beautiful and so much fun in so many ways but if I never made that decision to leave, I would have never started working at a country equine animal clinic splinting calves legs or assisting with c-sections, I would definitely not feel valued selling my crafts like I do now, and I would not have met my amazing husband. A man who supports me everyday and looks past my disaster of a craft space I created in our home. I am right where I am suppose to be and am so excited to continue meeting new people and growing into the person I was meant to be. Thank you for getting to know me and supporting my small business. Hope to see you at my next event!

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