Meet Joyce

Almost seventeen years ago, my husband came to me after finishing a guitar lesson and said something that would slowly shift the direction of our lives.

“I believe you could make beautiful jewelry from my strings.”

At the time, we were walking through his chronic mental health challenges. Music had remained one of the steady places in our life, something faithful when other things had caused us loss and disappointment. Those strings held more than sound. They held possibilities. He placed a small pile of worn guitar strings in my hands and I began experimenting with them at our kitchen table, not fully knowing what I was building. I simply started designing, curious to see what might emerge. What I discovered was that those strings held far beyond what I could imagine. 

It was a moment of quiet inspiration, creating something neither of us had seen before. The idea that worn guitar strings could be transformed into heirloom jewelry felt entirely new, and from that spark, ReThrive was born. What began as creative curiosity slowly became something much more.

I have spoken openly during our journey of the mental health challenges brought forth in our home. Entire households are changed and that’s certainly been the case for us.  Over time, and now with Glen’s retirement and the ongoing realities of his husband’s mental health journey; my caregiving has shifted. I bear the financial responsibilities as the primary breadwinner. I say that plainly. Not for sympathy. Simply because it is true. Art, for me, is not a hobby. It is advocacy. It is provision. It is resilience made visible.

For seventeen years I have carried that load almost fully. And as I have continued to shape, hammer, and refine each piece by hand, this work has always been more than guitar strings. It honors the life behind the music; the quiet perseverance, the unseen hours, the faithfulness it takes to keep showing up. It also mirrors my own journey. Strings are designed to live under tension. And yet, under the right hands, tension produces something beautiful and lasting.

What has endured strain often carries the richest sound, doesn’t it. It’s always been my goal that joy should emerge from my journey.

When you choose to support my work, you are not offering charity. You are participating in something real. Mental health carries economic consequences that are often invisible. Many independent artists are navigating fragile seasons as well. Your support is not a rescue: it is alignment. It is conscious investment in handcrafted work that sustains a family and stands quietly for mental health dignity.

Every design is crafted slowly and intentionally. Not mass-produced. Not rushed. Just carefully made with my hands, one piece at a time. These strings meant to carry music now carry meaning. From his strings placed into my hands, with designs shaped by advocacy, endurance, and provision; they are now pieces of jewelry that carry a story worth remembering. Yours and mine!

If you understand invisible weight, 

If you believe resilience can be refined into beauty, 

Then you’re in the right place. 

I value your belief and support of my story, journey and creativity. 

-Joyce