Easter of 2019, Denise was determined to be Instagram famous. So, she created a series of detail images in her backyard, and one particularly caught her attention. It was a vintage camera, surrounded by pressed flowers. She liked the effect so much, she created a whole series using vintage cameras and fresh flowers. She named the project Click Bloom, and put them up on Etsy... where no one bought them.

Several months later, she was looking through her enamel pin collection and thought, "Someone ought to make one of the Gilbert Water Tower." Then she thought, "I could be that someone..."

Several weeks later, she listed her new pin on Etsy, and within a few weeks, the town reached out to ask Denise to make them for their Centennial event the following year, in 2020.

By December, Denise had partnered with a talented watercolor artist to create a map celebrating the landmarks in Downtown Gilbert, and with her two products, Denise contacted a local farm store to see if they had space to carry her Gilbert line. They said no, but they offered her a space at their weekly Farm Night. So together, she and Raffi put together a tiny table and joined farm nights... and then something amazing happened.

People started telling Denise & Raffi their stories of the water tower. From proposals, to first kisses, to injuries, to climbing up the side back in the 70's. They were just over a month into their pop-up life, loving the stories and the community connection, dreaming about expanding to create more from landmarks all around the valley, and then the pandemic hit...

Read more in the stories section of our website!