We recently connected with Taylor Ross and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk would be the risk my wife and I took to start our business. Our intention and foundation for the business has always been focused on creativity and function, attempting to make the world a better place, and the finite nature of time, I knew from a very early age that I wanted to work for myself. My dad has been a self-employed carpenter his entire life, so growing up working with him on projects provided me a deep sense of the freedom and satisfaction that comes with that kind of occupation. I was exposed to the risks and constant doubts involved in choosing a life of self-employment, Can i physically and mentally endure this task? and if so, for how long? Will I make enough money to operate at levels necessary to achieve my business and personal goals? Will I be able to provide for my family?

I was also aware of larger more existential risks, such as not finding an outlet for my creativity, and what it might mean to me in the future had i not taken this risk to venture out on our own. If you ask me today how ultimately this risk has turned out, I would answer that everyday is an adventure. It’s an adventure that has its highs and lows, true happiness and stressful battles, laughter and sadness, but truly worth it. And I am thankful for those true glimpses of adventures.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We ritualize the things we value and the aspects of life that we feel are most important. For us, creating the rituals of dancing and singing in the kitchen, howling along with the dogs all while cooking a meal together, has brought a deeper sense of connection, intentionality, and purpose into our lives. We recreate this sacred time and space with family and friends. We wanted to inspire others to bring this intentionality to their lives and to share.

Heart and Hand was born and became a home goods brand inspired by rustic integrity and purposeful life. Our focus began on the kitchen and tools handcrafted using woodworking techniques and hand crocheting fiber. We have started adding in lifestyle items that continue to invite intentionality outside the kitchen.

Every morning we start up the kettle, and grab our walnut coffee scoop (one of the first ones I ever carved out) to measure out the perfect amount of coffee grounds for our chemex. One of us will grab our books and a blanket, and the other will button up the crocheted sweater that we wrap around the chemex. Once all the hot water has steeped through the coffee filter, two mugs are filled up and we take our seats on the floor with the pup. This coffee ritual has continued for years.

Our hope is that our handcarved spoons, bowls, cutting boards, crocheted kitchen cloths, chemex sweaters, any of our hand made items inspire you to slow down and start new rituals with the ones you love.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of our first booked events took place near this beautiful lake. The excitement was building as we drove the several hours across Montana. When we arrived to check in at the designated site for the event, there was a thick smoke in the air. There were devastating wild fires burning near by. We looked at the outside temperature gauge and it was 105 degrees. As the community of artists gathered to set up booths and their handmade items, we were immediately soaked with sweat and headaches from the smoke began to bring the energy down. The little grass that was still here at this site continued to quickly wilt which left the entire area a complete dust bowl, and the little shade from the handful of pine trees left little relief from the sun and heat. The next two days of the festival continued to get hotter. We wore our bathing suits so that we could take turns during the worst part of the heat, so that we could jump into the lake for some relief. On our last night of the show, we decided that sleeping in our trailer with the temps still at 100 and the smoke only getting worse, that we would stay in a hotel to get a proper shower and sleep in a bed. We had just checked in and walked into the room, when we got a phone call from the curator. A wild gust of wind had swept across the lake and decimated the majority of the booths and the items inside. Without dinner or showers or any rest from the heat, we were back outside. The damage to the site was unbelievable. However despite the “bad luck” one might say, artists rallied together to pick up the broken pieces. After hours of everyone coming together to help, we finally made it back to the hotel. After only a couple of hours of sleep, we had one last day of the event. We can laugh about that trip, but it really started our year teaching us the art of flexibility and that there is nothing like the kindness and consideration of artists that we met that weekend.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

One book, changed our lives and inspired us to pursue our dreams of being artists. We were driving home from Tennessee and my wife was reading this book out loud. We were getting goosebumps as we read each chapter and smiled as the connections bounced around in our heads. It was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heartandhandcrafted.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartnhandcrafted/

Image Credits
Avocado Scoop and Large Ladle Photos photographed by Phil Baldwin.