Creativity Over Coffee: Amy Holwell (Oldfield Society)

It’s time for Creativity Over Coffee – an interview series where I chat with my creative friends.

Happy Thursday, friends! Can you believe this is our FIRST Creativity Over Coffee of 2021. Yes, I know it’s been awhile since our last one and we’re half way through this year!!! Today I’m really excited to introduce you to my friend Amy Holwell creator of Oldfield Society. My friendship with Amy started on Instagram and I ordered some of her Poems of the Sea Collection (including the Poems of the Sea book). We haven’t actually met in person, but I feel like kindred spirits – we both went to Mount Holyoke, love books, antiques, the color blue, and candles AND we both live in Massachusetts. I can’t wait for you to read more about Amy’s story.

Grab your coffee (or tea) and join us for Creativity Over Coffee!

Hi Amy, I’m such a big fan of your candles. Can you share more about your creative path with my readers? How did you go about creating Oldfield Society? 

Amy – Oldfield Society was born out of my love for literature and all things home. By degree, I was an English teacher but I have always been a “creative” at heart. I gravitated towards the arts and design since as long as I can remember but my true love was reading and writing. My imagination was always going, and I was forever writing creative stories. I had multiple dreams ever since I was young – to be a writer; to have my own school akin to Miss Porter’s crossed with the one-room schoolhouse from Little House on the Prairie; and to open a quaint shop that felt like stepping into a Beatrix Potter book filled with flowers, tea, books, candles, and baskets. 

I stepped away from teaching for a while to be home with my three children but dabbled in antiques, selling at different shops and markets in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In 2014, I introduced my literary candle line at a Brimfield Show, and had such an encouraging response that I kept going with it. Fast forward many years later, and I feel like I have a combination of all my dreams with Oldfield Society. I have a blog where I can share my writing, and I still find time to read as much as I can. Even though I am no longer in the classroom, I will always be a teacher at heart. I hope to add workshops or classes to the business at some point. Finally, I have an online shop (not exactly with the warmth of Beatrix Potter) but I do sell candles, books, and bookish accessories. 

I love the name and the logo, can you tell us more about it? 

Amy – When I started selling antiques and painted furniture over 14 years ago, the original name of my business was Thistlebees. Then I changed it to Oldfield 1837. Oldfield came from a town on the north shore of Long Island that was the quintessential farm meets sea village. I grew up on the south shore of Long Island in the idyllic whaling village of Bellport – white picket fences and stately houses still line the lane to the Great South Bay. Oldfield conveyed the lifestyle I was hoping to capture – pastoral, seaside living. As a nod to my alma mater Mount Holyoke College, I included the1837. Not only was it the founding date of Mount Holyoke, it was the start of one of my favorite eras in literature and history – the Victorian Age. 

Eventually, I adjusted the name of the business to Oldfield Society. My hope was to grow this burgeoning home goods and candle company into a society of sorts that celebrates the literary lifestyle and country living all with a distinct respect to the past. With the help of my mentor, Marian Parsons of Miss Mustard Seed, I was introduced to the super-talented, women-owned design team at Bliss & Tell Branding Company. They created my new branding, and gave my original logo a refresh. The more delicate and modernized wreath is meant to impart movement, growth, and the journey ahead for Oldfield Society. 

When do you feel most creative or happy?

Amy – I get lost when I’m engaged in anything creative. It’s definitely my happy place. Whether I’m writing, pouring candles, planning curriculum, decorating, crafting, painting or praying, I feel the most content when I’m doing. 

Who or what inspires you? 

Amy – I am in awe of other women from long ago to present day who spend their time creating and doing. Whether it’s cooking, sewing, writing, singing, designing, DIYing, mothering – I just love that we each have these gifts which make us unique and blessed. 

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Do you have a favorite candle from your line? 

Amy – Oh, that’s so hard to pin down! It’s kind of like saying you love one child more than another. Each candle, fragrance, author, and work holds a special place in my heart. Depending on my mood, I’d probably give you a different answer each time I am asked. 

How has social media helped or hindered your business and creativity?

Amy – I’ll be the first to admit that social media is not in my “zone of genius.” I definitely have a love/hate relationship with it. Since I am somewhat of an introvert, I struggle with putting myself out there and promoting Oldfield Society. However, at the same time, I enjoy cultivating relationships and helping others. I’m trying to see social media through a lens of providing a service or an escape for people instead of feeling like it’s all about self-promotion. 

What’s your favorite color? 

Amy – Blue! From navy to pale turquoise, I don’t think I’ve ever met a shade of blue I didn’t like. 

I feel the same way about blue! Can you discuss how current events have changed how you feel about your home or changed your creative process? 

Amy – More so than ever, home has been my refuge this past year. In many ways, being closed away created a sort of resilience in our family but it also left me kind of weary. I secretly loved slowing down because of the pandemic but my creativity and motivation took a huge hit. There is a lingering malaise which I believe is linked to all that has happened this past year that makes me question my purpose and direction. I battle with whether or not I should return to the classroom where I certainly feel more purposeful but also feel more exhausted. I have some big decisions ahead this summer but I am looking forward to recharging, and moving forward in whatever path makes sense for my family and me. 

What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps or who would like to start a creative business? 

Amy – I think the most important thing is to be patient when you’re chasing a dream. All the twists and turns and perceived roadblocks happen for a reason. Oldfield Society is still in its infancy even though I’ve been working at it on and off since 2012. I have only been able to really commit to it for the past year and half since I stopped teaching. Sometimes life has a way of bringing you to where you’re supposed to be on its own timeline.

Growing up I was a huge follower of INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO. At the end of the program, they would ask the interviewee these questions: 

1. What is your favorite word? 

It’s a tie between whoopsie and collywobbles. I use whoopsie all the time because I am forever making mistakes. Collywobbles is just so sweet sounding . It’s right out of a Dickens story. 

2. What is your least favorite word? 

Onomatopoeia – it’s really a fantastic and imaginative word but it’s everything that’s wrong with the English language. I can never spell it correctly, and rules of phonics are completely out the window. 

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? 

Daydreaming – whether it’s in the quiet of the morning over a cup of tea or in the evening before I go to bed, daydreaming is how I find all my best ideas. 

4. What turns you off? 

The smell of a school bus – I think it’s the pleather seats. 

5. What is your favorite curse word? 

Nuts! it’s not exactly a curse word but I guess it could be considered crude because of other slang references. 

6. What sound or noise do you love? 

The lull of waves rolling onto the beach when the tide is going out. 

7. What sound or noise do you hate? 

Nails on a chalkboard 

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? 

In another lifetime, I might be a detective. I love a good mystery! 

9. What profession would you not like to do? 

I could never be an accountant. Numbers and I don’t always get along. 

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? You have made me proud. You listened, discovered, and fulfilled your purpose and promise.

A huge thank you to Amy for taking the time to be with us today. Love her outlook and her candles smell sooooo amazing and are just as beautiful to look at. Be sure to follow along with Amy:

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If you’d like more Creativity Over Coffee you can read the full series here

* Photos courtesy of Amy Holwell