{"id":34837,"date":"2023-06-01T07:00:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/?p=34837"},"modified":"2023-06-05T09:41:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T16:41:20","slug":"carving-out-a-new-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/carving-out-a-new-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Carving Out a New Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wood artisan brings the soothing power of the outdoors into homes<\/p>\n

By Dianna Troyer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Jayme Knight is a self taught artist who specializes in handmade wooden longboard, balance boards and wall decor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whatever wooden decor she creates, Jayme Knight hopes each piece infuses homes with the solace, scents and sounds of the outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a huge outdoor and nature lover, especially the ocean, coastlines, mountains and desert,\u201d says the Wells artisan, who works in her home studio.<\/p>\n

After sawing and sanding longboards, balance boards and other wall hangings, she paints or burns in waves, scenery, wildlife and
\ninspirational sayings on them.<\/p>\n

Jayme\u2019s pieces sell nationwide at Wildland Living on Etsy with 5-star ratings and more than 1,600 admirers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a huge believer that our living space can have a huge impact on our well-being and mindset,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I can help someone feel happy in their space, then that makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do that, she says she strives \u201cto bring the outdoors in. That\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking when I design and make a piece\u2014creating the feeling of rock climbing or that ocean wave calm. My pieces are little bits of the outdoors. I\u2019m addicted to fly fishing so am making pieces that remind me of the feeling of being on the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jayme says inspiration comes from the places she has lived and activities she loves: fly fishing, surfing, rock climbing and longboarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeach and surf culture has been a huge part of who I am. It\u2019s a way of living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Jayme grew up in southern Florida and later lived along the coasts of Massachusetts and Ireland.<\/p>\n

Cherished Places<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Jayme has become an avid angler since moving to Wells, conveying her new hobby through her art. Photo courtesy of Jayme Knight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After moving to Wells in October 2017 when her partner, Mike Sellers, accepted a new job, she added deserts and alpine lakes to her list of cherished places to explore and linger. Mike was hired as an engine captain at the Wells Bureau of Land Management fire station.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fell in love with the East Humboldts and Rubies and are grateful to live in a quiet town like Wells,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shortly after moving to town, Jayme began exploring options to work from home while caring for their five boys, ranging in age at the time from 3 to 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been creative, so I first thought of designing new art for a longboard that I had,\u201d she says. \u201cThen I started making surf style balance boards as a way to train for better balance for longboarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

She converted part of their home into a studio to paint and do wood-burning and rented space in a former car dealership to do woodworking. A source in Salt Lake City provides Baltic birch, an ideal wood for surf, snow and balance boards because it is durable and flexible.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A native of Florida, Jayme says nautical subjects are natural for her to create.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super strong without having to be super thick and has good give,\u201d she says. \u201cIt can take more than 250 pounds without snapping, which is critical for balance boards.\u201d
\nSatisfied with her creations in late 2019, Jayme began posting them on Etsy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal was to offer affordable products,\u201d she says. \u201cI love customizing pieces and adding personal touches, too.\u201d
\nSales soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people were looking for a way to be entertained and to have something to do inside; balance boards were a great option for fitness and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Never Too Late<\/h2>\n

A self-taught artist who encourages others, Jayme says \u201ccreating with my hands\u201d has been a way of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on my experiences and what I\u2019ve learned by age 41, I tell my kids, \u2018You can do anything and become great at anything if you practice,\u201d Jayme says. \u201cThe more you do something, the better you get. We learn from mistakes and trial and error.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
She recently taught herself pyrography, using a wood-burning tool to etch patterns on wood that creates a tooled-leather look.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking her own advice, she recently began doing pyrography, using a wood-burning tool to etch patterns on wood, creating a tooled-leather look.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the challenge\u2014the smell of the lumber mixed with the smoke from the burn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jayme reminds anyone with a someday-I\u2019d-like-to-do-that wish list \u201cit\u2019s never too late to try something new\u2014something you have always wanted to do. Before this, I started and ran an American- style bakery for eight years in Ireland. If you put in the work and time, you can make it happen. I\u2019m proof of that. All you need is a passion and drive!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jayme has a someday list, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re considering fixing up our 1956 Aloha camper as a mobile retail space, if we can get some extra time,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d rather be outside, but when I have to be inside, it\u2019s great to have pieces of the outdoors around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Jayme demonstrate pyrography on her Wildland Living Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wood artisan brings the soothing power of the outdoors into homes By Dianna Troyer Whatever wooden decor she creates, Jayme Knight hopes each piece infuses homes with the solace, scents and sounds of the outdoors. \u201cI am a huge outdoor and nature lover, especially the ocean, coastlines, mountains and desert,\u201d says the Wells artisan, who […]\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":34850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,220],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34837"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34837"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34849,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34837\/revisions\/34849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrec.coop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}