For most of my career, I was an educator, passionate about shaping young minds and helping students find their path. But when COVID-19 struck, the world changed in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Navigating both a global pandemic and a personal upheaval—a divorce—left me searching for something to ground me. I needed a new way to channel my energy and creativity amidst the chaos.
That’s when Quarter Moon Bazaar was born. It started as an experiment, a leap of faith to see if others shared my eclectic taste in unique, handcrafted, and carefully curated goods. The shop became more than just a business—it was my creative refuge, a way to express myself and reclaim a part of me that had been sidelined by life’s challenges. Every item I selected, every product I designed, was a reflection of who I was and what I valued during that transformative time.
In a sense, curating Quarter Moon Bazaar helped me heal. The process of building something new, from the ground up, gave me purpose when so much around me felt uncertain. It wasn’t just about the products; it was about building a community of people who appreciated the same things I did—a celebration of individuality, creativity, and the beauty in the unexpected.
Within a year, something remarkable happened: the shop had grown beyond my wildest expectations. The connection I had with my customers, the sense of fulfillment I found in running my own business, made me realize this wasn’t just a side project—it was my future. With that realization, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life: I left my job in education to run Quarter Moon Bazaar full-time.
Looking back, the challenges I faced during that period were immense, but they pushed me toward something beautiful. Quarter Moon Bazaar wasn’t just a business—it was my lifeline. It showed me that even in the darkest times, there’s always the potential for new beginnings, for rediscovering who we are, and for finding joy in unexpected places.
