Meet Megan Strachan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Strachan. 

Hi Megan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I have always been an artist. I’ve been sketching and painting my whole life, however, I originally started using resin as a one-time task. While out on a hike with my boyfriend, Eddie, we found some mushrooms. I am really fascinated by mushrooms, the way the grow and communicate, their biology, it’s really cool! Eddie’s family forages, and he got me interested. So, when we found some cool-looking mushrooms, we took them! They weren’t edible, but I wanted to preserve them. I started researching ways to save them and found resin! After my first piece I made, that was made for me, I fell in love. I have always had a love for the eccentric as well, whether it be with my hair, makeup, or jewelry. So being able to make my own jewelry- it was the perfect fit! While I loved focusing on my foraged finds, I began to open my eyes to all of the other infinite possibilities of resin, and soon I was making a ton of things. First a few coworkers showed interest in my earrings and asked if I’d make them some. Soon Eddie, who is an artist as well, was encouraging me to sell my treasures. I started out on Instagram and Facebook, where I guess I still am as I work toward creating a website. Eddie and I got invited to a local weekly artisan market, where my sales have really expanded! I now do frequent fairs and markets and am working on expanding outside of resin. I just did my first custom order for a pair of hand-sculpted earrings and am working on getting on getting more sculpted clay earring up for sale soon. I also just shipped my first huge order for a business, and the business owner has already placed a second order! I am still working on building a website, as that has proven to be outside my area of expertise (for now) but am always taking custom orders and sales from my Facebook page and Instagram. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not. Haha. Resin is incredibly messy. In terms of other mediums, I’ve played with, it is one of the more, ahem, temperamental. ESPECIALLY when you’re trying to use organic matter, such as mushrooms, flowers, and bugs like I do. So, the learning curve is huge. I had been making things for probably two weeks before I felt confident enough to even use the mushrooms I had found because resin is so easy to mess up. Even now, three years later, I still ruin things. And sometimes I still don’t even why! I have definitely picked up some tips and tricks along the way, and I’m constantly learning still. Another roadblock has definitely been local weather. When I started, I focused solely on making jewelry from mushrooms and flowers I found. This has proven to be a challenge, as I can’t just run to Michael’s to pick up some more. We had a really dry year this year, and I haven’t had hardly any luck with usable fungi this year. They can’t just be mushrooms, they have to be the right size, AND they have to be the right species, as some mushrooms act differently as they die. Some just turn into a puddle of ink. Luckily, I found a ton that I dried last season, and that stash is tiding me over for now, but it does complicate my relationship with nature. For a while, I struggled with feeling an intense sense of dread about hiking because I was so worried about not finding anything. The overwhelming anxiety about maintaining my supply through the winter months really took away from my joy and love of the outdoors. However, since then, I’ve started exploring other options, like sculpting mushrooms from clay to use in my art, as well as using other beautiful things I’ve found. I love to collect leaves and flowers to use in my work and am hoping to start using real animal bones in my work soon. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As mentioned before, I specialize in resin. While I started out focusing on my foraged finds, I branched out into other themes. A lot of my work would be classified as “Halloween,” but for me, that’s all year! I love the dark, creepy, and macabre. I love combining the two. I know there is a lot of people out there like me who wish it was fall all the time, and those people speak to my soul. I make things that cater to the souls who feel at home when the leaves change and want a little bit of the spookiest and most beautiful time of year. One of my favorite things to make I call “forever terrariums.” I use artificial moss, but real dried mushrooms and real crystals so that they never need maintenance! Those sell pretty quick. 

This is very much my passion project. I am extremely lucky to have the privilege of making and sharing my art with others, and I don’t take that lightly. One of the things I am most proud of is the small campaign I ran this past July for the Midwest Access Coalition. I am still one small person with only two hands and a full-time job, but the women losing access to healthcare in many states it was horrifying to me in ways I couldn’t do sit and do nothing about. I created a digital design, and with MUCH help from Eddie, we came up with a “bundle deal.” The bundle included a self-defense keychain, which I made from resin, and a t-shirt with my design, which Eddie screen printed by hand to keep costs low. We sold enough of the bundles to donate $130 to the MAC, which helps to provide childcare, lodging, travel, etc. for women seeking reproductive healthcare where prohibited. It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but it feels good to do what you can for things you care a lot about. 

What matters most to you?
My peace. I work a full-time job still, and it’s soul-crushing. I LOVE my job. But it’s not what I was meant to be doing. Selling my art has shown me the light at the end of the tunnel, that I can do what I love and pay my bills doing it. Making beautiful things puts my brain at ease, removes the racing thoughts, and distracts me from the negativity and toxicity that surrounds us. I long for the day I can quit my job and make protecting my peace my full-time job. 

Pricing:

• Earrings $10-$25
• Pendants $15-$20
• Coffin Jewelry Boxes $10
• Stickers $3/each, 2/$5, set of 5/$10
• Self-Defense Keychains $10

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetoadstooltreasury/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheToadstoolTreasury