I am excited to share a deeper look into the creative life of Coyote Crafted. Molly Quinn started making gorgeous desert inspired jewelry full time in 2022 and it is no wonder so many locals and travelers alike connect to her pieces. Deeply moved by the southwest and guided by her own intuition, she creates as an act of connection to self, community, and the land. So let’s thread the first bead and hear how it all began with Molly Quinn and Coyote Crafted. 

 

Hi, my name is Molly Quinn. At Coyote Crafted, I create intentional jewelry inspired by the simple beauty of the desert. I use mostly glass seed beads and aim to capture the colors, feelings and characteristics of the Moab area desert. It is my hope that my jewelry can serve as a memento or time capsule of sorts, that can transport you back to a memory or experience that connects you with this place. 

When did you first come to Moab? 

I had first seen Moab on a river trip when I was 12 and had fallen in love with the idea of being a river guide here some day. I followed that dream in 2018 when my husband and I moved here from New Hampshire in an old cargo van and started working on the Moab Daily section of the Colorado River. We fell in love with the wildness of this place and have found ways to make Moab our permanent home ever since. I feel so lucky to have been making jewelry here full-time since 2022.

Do you feel like the way you were raised influenced your creative spirit?

 

My parents have always encouraged my creative spirit, which I’ve had since before I can even remember. I love looking back at old photos and seeing how, no matter where we were - plane, train, restaurant, car - I was always immersed in a drawing or coloring project. Silently working away while the world spun on around me. As I got a little older, I got really excited about making jewelry too. I was obsessed with making those intricately patterned embroidery thread friendship bracelets. I had always struggled to fully express myself, and I think as a kid creating art allowed me a chance to express more than I felt I could socially. I loved the comfort it has always brought me. Whether it’s been crocheting, knitting, painting, collaging, drawing, playing guitar…it has all grounded me in different chapters of my life. I love thinking about how I’ve come full circle, and I’m back to being that same version of myself, immersed in my art while the world spins madly on. I don’t know what I would do without my ability to create.

I love hearing that your creativity shared parts of yourself that needed to be expressed with the world around you at a young age. I am sure that evolved over time but it is apparent that your jewelry is an expression of you. How has it transpired now that it is a business? Has there been any challenges in turning your art into an income?

My biggest challenge of my creative journey has been the discomfort of self-promotion. I first started trying to sell my work more seriously in 2019 when we lived in our van. We were living on the streets of San Diego at the time, trying to save up some gas money to get to our next river guiding jobs in Jackson, WY. 

I honestly struggled a lot during this time mentally (and financially). I didn’t know what I was doing at all - I was trying my best but just didn’t know how to balance promoting myself on the internet, making new designs, photographing everything, packaging and shipping things. The most uncomfortable part for me was feeling like I was commodifying my hobby of making art…it was sucking out the joy and putting too much pressure on myself. Having to post on the internet constantly to get people to see what I was trying to sell felt so in-genuine. I struggled so much with imposter syndrome, and feeling like there was no space for me in the creative world.

After those couple months I decided I would never be able to do that again. That I just wasn’t cut out for owning my own art business, and relying on it completely for income. We went back to guiding and I completely stopped making art and jewelry all together - I didn’t touch any of my supplies for almost a year.

But then, the pandemic hit in spring of 2020 and I lost my employment. I felt completely helpless knowing there were so many people suffering. I turned to the one constant in my life that has always been there when all else falls away: I started making art again. 

The intention behind making art went from: “I have to do this to buy dinner tonight” to “I have to do this to raise money for non-profits that need our help…” and I have to do this to remind my friends and family that there is joy and beauty and connection to hold on to.” It changed everything for me. 

Making art went from this ego-struggle I was having with myself to a necessity of spirit. It started with internal dialogues of “is this good enough? Do people want to buy this?” It was all about me. I realize that it wasn’t being made from the right place in my heart. My motives shifted from making art for me and my personal gain to making art for others…making art to connect us…and to raise money for non-profits and causes that benefit the cultures and landscapes of the southwest. Living in this red rock desert…it’s just impossible not to create when I really let go of my own ego and get out of my own way.

This quote from Andy Warhol has been a guiding light for me when I start to lose sight: “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

 

If your creative style had a soundtrack, what song would it be?

 

“Mesa Redonda” by Hermanos Gutiérrez 

 

I love envisioning making art as a necessity of spirit. It seems like things have really taken off for you since that shift in perspective. Is this full time? Do you have any personal practices that help you enter a creative state before making art?

Creating jewelry has been my full-time job since spring of 2022. It has been a huge lesson in time-management and finding balance between creating for work and creating for play. The most important practice for fostering my creativity has been getting outside. Whether it is a simple walk down a favorite trail with the dogs, or taking the paddle-board out for a night of camping on the river. I always feel that spark of creativity return after I have explored a new corner of the desert. Photography has been a way for me to tap into my creativity for play instead of for work. I love capturing the textures and colors of this place through photos and bringing them back into my studio for inspiration on my next piece.

If you could freeze one moment in your creative process and live inside it forever, which would it be?

 

The feeling of watching a new design come to life for the first time. Beadwork is a very slow process, but it’s always so gratifying watching the colors and shapes come together. Especially when it comes together the way I wanted it to, haha.

 

Can you walk me through your creative process from idea to finished piece?

 

All of my inspiration comes directly from the colors, shapes, textures and feelings of the desert. An idea will spark when I see a specific pattern in the sandstone, or see how the colors of the native plants compliment the neutral tones of the rocks. I try my best to photograph these moments of inspiration and bring that back to my studio. Depending on the intricacy of the piece, I will sometimes sketch out ideas on my ipad. But most of the time I just free-hand trial and error pieces until I can figure out how to create the shapes and colors I have in my head.

What’s the most challenging part of creating a piece?

 

Working with microscopic glass seed beads can be extremely frustrating at times. I love that the medium is simple and portable. But sometimes a whole mat of thousands of beads will get knocked over, or as I’m about to finish a piece that took me hours to complete, I break a bead on my last pass with my needle and thread. Sometimes I am not able to find the right color of bead since the color palette available for these beads is relatively limited.

 

Do you source your materials locally, ethically, or from particular regions?

 

I try to source all of my genuine turquoise beads from the Kingman Arizona mine. The rattlesnake vertebrae I use in a lot of my work is sourced ethically from roadkill (mostly in Texas). I purchase my glass seed beads online from small shops in the U.S.

Is there a particular piece that holds special meaning to you?

My vertebrae hoops were the first design I sold during the pandemic in 2020. I had found a snake skeleton in the desert and realized how much the symbolism of snakes held meaning for me, especially at that time. Snakes are a symbol of change. I wanted to create earrings that reminded us of our ability to shed what no longer served us. To this day, it is one of my favorite things to create and I will always be grateful that others have resonated with them as well.

How has social media, online selling, and marketing changed your relationship with your craft?

 

As I shared earlier, self-promotion was my biggest hurdle in making a career out of my craft. I think what really helped was being able to shift away from a more self-centered mindset of worrying about if people would like my art or not, and moving towards sharing in hopes it could bring someone else joy. Using social media to market my website restocks has completely changed my life and allowed me to make a living full-time with creating jewelry. I think as much as social media can be detrimental to our mental health, with the right boundaries it can be an incredible tool for connection and a way to connect with a larger audience that may resonate with our work.

 

We’d love to hear how you're handling the political climate and the threat to public lands. 

My work is directly inspired by our public lands. They’re places I have called home for several years while living in our van. They’re the places I walk with my dogs every day that inspire my work. What I am most proud of and what continues to inspire me to create is the commitment I have made to myself to use art as activism. A portion of every purchase is donated quarterly to a rotation of regional non-profits that support environmental conservation, education and advocacy. It is one small way to give back to the land that inspires my work daily. I also think social media has been extremely helpful in raising awareness about these issues of concern, and I will always aim to uplift those causes where I can. I hope that my jewelry can connect people to this land even if they have never been here before, and in turn raise awareness and care for their conservation.

What do you think the next chapter of your artistic journey will look like?

 

As I am entering my fourth year as a beadwork artist, I hope to continue to expand my skills in the craft and learn new techniques. Each new technique unlocks a whole world of possibilities and I am so enthralled in continuing to pursue this medium. This next year I hope to expand my offerings to include new styles of necklaces, hatbands and bracelets. I have spent the last 3 years making mostly earrings, so this excites me. One thing I hope to push further in my work is texture. I want to experiment more with unconventional shapes and sizes of beads to try to emulate the different textures in each layer of sandstone in the area.

Are there any artists or people in your life that you feel influenced your creative journey?

 

When I first moved here in 2018 and was shopping at Moab Made, I remember reading the artist bios that were printed and hung next to people’s work. I was so inspired seeing so many women’s stories of moving here as a river guide, and eventually becoming an artist. I didn’t know then that would become my story as well. I am so inspired every day by the people here in Moab that find creative ways to make a living to be able to call this special place home.

Molly Quinn’s work feels inseparable from the desert that shapes it and offers a way to carry a place with you. Her process is slow, intentional, and deeply attentive. A practice strung together with inner necessity and outward responsibility, her creativity sounds like an act of devotion to the land, to community, and to the quiet, persistent act of making something meaningful while the world continues to spin. Thank you Molly for sharing all this with us.

If anyone would like to check out more about Coyote Crafted or purchase your jewelry where should they go?

website: coyotecrafted.com 

instagram: @coyotecrafted 

substack: substack.com/@coyotecrafted

 

All images taken by Molly Quinn