Brief Bio: Sarah Neuburger was born in the Midwest and raised in the South, spending most of her childhood mapping out elaborate neighborhood monorail bicycle map systems, singing "It's a Small World" until her mother could take no more and teaching her inanimate objects how to color, count and sew. After spending some time hopping from Brooklyn to Manhattan to Jersey City, she left the world of non-profit arts management with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts and retreated back to the land of boiled peanuts + sweet iced tea to start her own business. Seven years later, The Small Object is a thriving online business that remains humbled by the ever-growing support for handmade and those individuals who seek out and support independent designers. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA with her partner and three cats.

The History: Now, if you really like reading, here is a long version of how this all came to pass. Settle in and here goes... This first bit is not so much about The Small Object but me (I'm Sarah Neuburger, pleased to meet you) and my first trip to California. Bear with me here, I'll make a point soon enough.

My dad's parents lived out in California until I was about 13 and one day we went to visit them. I don't even remember now which part it was since all I recall of that trip to California are snails and golf carts. My grandparents were living in one of those gated communities where children were only allowed in the pool for a few hours each day. I found this ridiculously unfair and cruel.

During this time, I was still of the napping age and was forced to take my nap in the back bedroom in my grandparents bed away from all the action in the living room. I also found this unfair and cruel. The bed was a large king size bed with more space than I could ever imagine to wiggle about and above it was a painting a friend of the family had made. The painting is an image of some boulders and rocks, slightly abstracted but rocks, nonetheless. Now, this was not just any painting. I was told, and reminded on a daily basis, that when an earthquake hit California, since it was really only a matter of time, I had to jump out of bed really quick or else all the rocks in the painting would fall down on top of me and bury me alive. I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

And that is just the thing that I get giddy about and why The Small Object was made. This shop is my own little cottage industry for my artwork and other objects of our everyday. But artwork and objects that can make something mundane even more wonderful. Like rocks falling out of paintings, anything is possible. Tiny, small things are possible that can make big, giant things happen. Little folks sleeping in our floorboards and mice wearing tuxedos. It can happen. I am most certain.

At this particular point in time, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Though I find great amusement in being born in a town called Normal, IL. I've also done a stint in New York and New Jersey before and after getting my MFA from the School of Visual Arts which is when I was given the rock painting. And now I hang it above my bed and practice jumping up really quick even though we don't get many earthquakes in the area, it's still good fun and I want to be ready. Anything is possible.

Even more reading: I keep a blog updated regularly on what inspires me with some behind-the-scenes action here.

Elsewhere: Given the increased popularity of Etsy.com, I do now operate two shops on the site where my products are also available. They are both run by me, just like this website, with a limited assortment of the same products. The two shops I run are thesmallobject.etsy.com and my custom wedding topper shop, togetherforever.etsy.com.