Karen Earnsberger

A Fall Leads To An Unexpected Twist

I’ve always been a crafty gal. I built a bar for my kitchen. I even built a tiki hut for my backyard. I would make things for fun or for my family and they would tell me, “Karen, you’ve got to get into shows and sell your items!” Call it self sabotage or whatever but I didn’t have the confidence to put myself out there in the artisan community.

Fast forward to Feb 2022. I had fallen and had a hair-line fracture in my right wrist. At the time, I was a server at the Dragonfly Tea Room and my husband had just retired from the city of Canal Fulton. With my injury, I couldn’t serve and somehow during my husband’s retirement, I had been dropped from his insurance which I didn’t realize until I was at the hospital for treatment of my wrist. I was given a splint but started looking for ways to naturally heal to my wrist. And there it was—MACRAME! I had always wanted to do this. I remember back to growing up in the 70’s where we had this big, beautiful macrame plant hanger that my mom had made. I already had created a Pinterest board of macrame because I had been wanting to learn this technique badly.

Needless to say, the Universe was telling me, here’s your opportunity! I became obsessed with macrame. Not only was it beautiful but it was my therapy to heal my body, mind, and soul. I was always thinking about it and making it. Finally, with the encouragement of my fabulous family and friends, I decided to put myself out there in 2023 and sell my pieces. I haven’t looked back since.

My macrame is useful, decorative, and is always changing in my mind. I like to have unique pieces at each of my shows to keep it fresh and exciting.  I love when my customers say to me, “This piece speaks to me. I’m drawn to it!” That right there, along with engaging with my customers, make my heart so happy! I become attached to my pieces because I put a lot of time and positive energy into each one so when a customer says something like that to me, I know my macrame is going to the right home!

I would like to give a shout out to my husband of 30 years, Bobby, our children Brianna and Beau, our grandchildren Atlas and Karuna, and my family and friends. Thank you for the encouragement and for always being my biggest supporters through all my crazy brain ideas.

This is my 1st year at Christmas in the Woods and I’m so excited to be a part of it. You can find me in the new area — booth #220. I’m really looking forward to meeting you! I’m on Facebook and Instagram at Woven Vibes Macrame—see you there!