"My first portrait ornament request came in 2012, by someone who was referred to me by a mutual friend. She had seen this done somewhere online and inquired if I do them or could do one for her. I never had, but was determined to research and figure out the best way to go about it. I had seen them done on round ball ornaments and thought that seemed way too difficult with the distortion of wrapping the image around a ball, instead finding an elliptical-shaped round ornament that I thought would be much easier, and it was. I came up with a process of spraying the clear acrylic ornament with ivory-colored spray paint as a base. I then draw the portraits (smaller than 4", as that is the diameter) and paint them with acrylic paint. I personalize the back of the ornament with dates, names, etc to the person's preference and finish them with a clear protective coating and ribbon to hang on the tree. Since I started in 2012, I've never had to advertise this part of my business, as I get requests from word of mouth and people seeing them on my social media. They have been my bread and butter during the holiday season, doing anywhere from 4-8 in a season. They take time, so I can't do them in mass, but I'm usually always able to accommodate requests if given enough time. They make outstanding gifts, treasured by those who receive them."

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"My MapSO Holiday Ornament Collection came after a conversation at our local pool with friend and founder of the SOMa Film Festival, Matt Smollon, about our recent sales at a local holiday pop-up shop. He was selling cool shirts and I had my art, some original, mostly prints, and handpainted ornaments. I told him the ornaments were all sold and he said why don't you make a reproduction of landmarks/sites in our area and sell them in mass locally. I thought it sounded like a great possibility and that's where it all started. Matt was my partner in the marketing and retail side and investing in the product, while I made the original artwork to be reproduced and sourced the printing company we would use. It was a very fun project and lead to getting to know more of our community and local business owners along the way."