Where did all the time go? Five years on.
2020-2023. When the pandemic arrived exactly five years ago, Monolith family and Nick’s family lived on the farm for several months so we could keep working.
This time was one of our busiest to date when we put our heads down to crank out for extremely high demand. As the time of Covid lingered in that first year, all started to rethink our lives and intentions. Two from the team returned to seek higher degrees, one from the team moved closer to his gal and just like that, Monolith had been reduced to a single person enterprise, me! Things were slow and not easy to navigate but I kept just enough flame going for two years. With just myself making knives, I had very little time to do the extra work of newsletters, social media posts, or even working on the vision of Monolith. I was just stoking that flame for two straight years. Highlight: I sent two kids off to college during this time!
2024. The impact of knifemaking to one’s body is REAL.
For the real kicker, add to that another 40-some years living with epilepsy and my spine had started to let me know it. I had a cervical spine fusion in January of 2024 and was down for three months straight with strict instructions for zero impact or vibration to my body for another six months. Brutal instructions for a knifemaker, but I did it…for the most part! I was finally getting things at Monolith moving again (burn little flame, burn) last fall when In December, while finishing a batch of orders for Christmas, I sustained a significant injury to my hand while making my last knife of the season. I needed surgery. I feared that this could be the end of my journey of metal crafting and knifemaking. Only a few months prior, I was concerned when my friend and fellow knife maker, Will Manning of Heartwood Forge, had suffered a severe hand injury. I reached out to him. We shared stories of the challenges of a hand injury, working while injured, and recovery. This knife community is made up of the finest people one could hope to meet. Having a friend and peer knife maker share his own experience was helpful and reassuring for me as I had my surgery and began the healing process. Countless other knife makers reached out to me during this time. The support kept my confidence intact and gave me the reassurance that I needed to continue making knives.
2025. Hand heals over the winter. I have full function!
Nick and I’s families have remained close since he left to get his Architecture degree at UVA. It was cool to see him successfully pursue this dream and gain some practical experience in the field. All the while, he expressed the need to be creative and work with his hands. Since he is a trained sculptor, this came as no surprise to me since I live with the same need. We started talking about the what ifs and him coming back to Monolith. The more we talked about it the more we knew that we had to get the band back together and it would be even better than before. It’s like that scene in The Blues Brothers when Jake realizes they are gonna get the band back together. As of March 1, we are back!