Deschaine & Co., Lincoln, NE
Deschaine, meaning "of the oaks," is a name that will die for my family with my generation. Seeing that we are all women, it's only fitting that the name be used to carry through the work done here, which aims to celebrate and support the individualities of women.
It all started as a craft hobby some twenty years ago when my Aunt Kathy taught me and my sisters—Jill and Tara—the basics of jewelry making, starting with simple earrings. It was that same summer break in Michigan when I made a pair of earrings that I still wear today and that have fondly been dubbed the “people earrings,” or what I've now labeled the children-of-the-world stack earrings if you are looking for a pair of your own.
As a student, artist, and now educator, I've kept coming back to the flair and spunk that these "statements" provide. I have always been a lover of humans, of helping, of investing in individuals, and the “people earrings”—in a way—are an art piece embodying these otherwise abstract concepts.
These earrings are notable enough that many friends and even my sisters have asked for them to be replicated. I couldn't find the same beads to allow for it for the longest time, but (at least for now) you can snag 'em up here. These earrings are also funky enough that I have also been teased for the fact that they have withstood each and every minimalist-seeking purge I've initiated over the last decade. I just can't seem to part with them!
In the winter of 2018, I was ending my year of yoga teacher training, and after making my own mala, a few friends asked for their own custom set as well. Both my younger years learning from my aunt alongside my sisters and my love of language (I'm an English teacher by day), earth (growing up in the outskirts of Lincoln, Nebraska, I've often taken note of the surrounding landscape), and spirituality (informed by a decade of Catholic schooling and the years of studying other spiritual paths), I took off on a journey to create "Made by Maggie" and "Maggie Deschaine Shop"—both names and visions that never felt quite right, but were the origin companies to what is now "Deschaine & Co."
After over a year under the other company umbrella, the designs and concepts associated with "Made by Maggie" and "Maggie Deschaine Shop" outgrew their general mission. Deschaine & Co. seeks to refine that mission in order to more effectively share the passion of self-love, individual and holistic wellness, and communal growth with others.
As always, all pieces are inspired by a connection to earth, as our mission statement refers to. In our move to connect natural and modern worlds, our pieces root us in the spirituality of the earth in order to allow us the necessary energy to move through today's world. I am so glad to share in our mission by serving you. Thank you for joining me!
