On one of their first dates over a decade-and-a-half ago, Andy and Amy Palmer painted their way through Bob Ross art kits. With both having a lifelong predilection for art — with Andy attending college for art — it's no surprise that art became their eventual business. Known for their unique earrings of different colors and materials, the Aroma Park couple developed APalm Creations some 10 years ago.

“A big part of it was getting pushed out of my comfort zone,” said Andy, referring to a friend encouraging him to sell his college-made artwork at the Kankakee Farmers’ Market.

Always tinkering with different woods and materials, Amy convinced her now-husband to begin creating earrings in 2012, the year after the farmers’ market debut.

“I was like, ‘Andy, you should make these earrings out of wood. They'd be really cool,’” Amy recalled. “And he just started making loads of wood earrings.”

Now, the two work together on creating earrings that are seen on lobes all over Kankakee County.

“The community support is everything,” Amy said while sitting in her home studio that is adorned with earrings and other handmade trinkets.

“We could sit here and list the families that compete for the most earrings,” Andy added with a laugh.

While best known for their earrings, the couple also designs decorative lanterns for Halloween and fall and wood-based craft kits that parents can purchase for their kids to paint.

<strong>Painting the town Palmer</strong>

When it comes to art, the brains behind APalm Creations are jacks of all trades. With an affinity for woodworking, and with the help of a new laser cutter, Andy has worked with many entities around town to bring projects to life. He often works with Visit Kankakee County (Kankakee County Convention and Visitors Bureau), and has designed signs for Knack Brewing and Fermentations in Kankakee and The Well in Manteno.

His love of music was brought into his work when he teamed up with the Bradley-Bourbonnais Rotary Club to create a sculpture for Olivet Nazarene University’s Larsen Fine Arts Center. What went through months of conversation and brainstorming eventually became a larger-than-life clarinet that now hangs on Larsen’s wall. Amy recalls that as being a “proud wife moment.”

The couple has two children: Odin, 8, and Hazel, 5. Both kids have their parents’ love of art.

“All of our packages that we mailed out, they used to draw pictures on them when they were smaller,” Amy said, noting that they’ve grown out of that interest and have developed new ones.

Over the summer, Odin told his mom he wanted to make some money, so Amy suggested he help with jewelry-making.

“We'd lay all the pieces out for him and he would pick which ones he thought would go together. So that was pretty cool. And then Hazel of course wanted to get in on it,” Amy recalled with a laugh. Hazel also helped pick pieces, but with some guidance.

Not only did the kids take interest in creativity, but also the entrepreneurial spirit.

“Everything they look at now is like, ‘How can I make this business?’” said Andy, who said that his kids often encourage him to start a restaurant.

While he acknowledged their idea for a restaurant that serves coconut ice cream with ribs is enticing, he and the family are going to stick with art for now.

<strong>AMuse</strong>

Amy, who also runs APalm’s social media, said she recently enjoyed developing earring collections based around muses.

“I started doing those collections for people and that's been really interesting because it's like you gotta think about it in a whole new way and think what would look good on them and think about what they would like,” she said.

This past summer, Amy had put out a call on social media seeking a muse from which to gain inspiration for a collection. She said a good number of people reached out, and she selected the ones she felt drawn to “based on where my head was at artistically.”

So far, she’s had seven muses and their corresponding collections. Muses have the option to select what grabs them from the collection, and the collections are available to the public.

“It’s been really cool.”

Without giving away the secret recipe and tools used to create their pieces, their upstairs studio – which overlooks the river – expands down into the basement where a blow-torch station is set up. Down there are the pieces being fused together for future orders – most of which are for Christmas orders, their busiest time of year.

To keep up on their artistic endeavors, go to apalmcreations.myshopify.com.

<strong>Find APalm online</strong>

Website: <a href="http://apalmcreations.myshopify.com" target="_blank">apalmcreations.myshopify.com</a>

Instagram: @apalmcreations