I, Martha P. Humphreys, am a product development junkie. I adore the latent possibility of the many raw materials I've worked with over my career -- metals, plastics, stones, paper, paint -- even a big fat bar of polishing compound. I am also fascinated by the manufacturing process (whether by hand or machine) and have sought every opportunity to be personally involved with it. I am entranced by color and texture, and by the shape, weight and feel of a material or an object.  I love to watch and I LOVE to participate in the transformation of raw material into finished product.

Art and design has always been my first love, though I also love learning and speaking languages, and in fact my BA in foreign languages.   To pay the bills, I spent several years in the optical industry doing product design and development, as well as some technical language interpretation.  This was a serious education for me, and fell right in with my love of manufacturing.  I got to spend lots of time in factories in Europe, China and Japan seeing first-hand how eyewear is produced, as well as experiencing the "on-the-fly" creative problem-solving needed for the process.  

In 2002 I finally decided it was time to break from the gray-carpeted world of cubicles and do what I have always wanted.  I parted with the optical industry (and the steady paycheck associated), and went back to school to learn various metal-working and jewelry production techniques as well as advance my design skills.

Now I feel like I'm cheating, because I get to do what I REALLY love every day and get paid for it.  I am an artist, a crafts-person, a manufacturer, a problem-solver, a materials manager, a wife and a mom, and I squeeze every drop of joy and love out of it all.  Thanks for visiting my web page, and helping to fuel my fire!