07/30/2025
Our community lost a radiant light last week.
Briana was a beloved educator, coach, and friend—someone who touched countless lives with her strength, kindness, and passion.
I first met Bri during the pandemic, brought together by our shared love for creating handmade crafts and products. She quickly became a leader in our local vendor community, organizing countless events and championing the makers involved. Behind the scenes, she worked tirelessly—promoting each event, lifting up every vendor, and pouring her energy into helping others succeed.
All the while, she was quietly battling multiple life-threatening illnesses, making regular trips to Cleveland for surgeries, continuing to teach, coach, and—above all—raise her pride & joy.. her incredible daughter, Nyla’s.
People often ask me if there’s tension between artisans at events—if we see each other as competition. What they don’t often see is how supportive this community truly is. We share each other’s posts, shop from one another’s tables, help set up tents and carry each other’s displays. Of course, there are exceptions, but at its heart, this community is about connection, encouragement, and joy. I’m even friends with other candle makers. There’s room for everyone who finds purpose and play in their craft.
Some of my closest friendships have grown from within this vendor space—and Briana was one of them.
She fought harder than most ever will, always with a quiet resilience and unwavering love for her daughter. Even after grueling surgeries, she’d show up—with hugs, with smiles, with cheers of encouragement for all of us.
Our final event together this past spring was exactly that—a beautiful, spirited goodbye. Bri was there, not because she had to be, but because that’s who she was. She inspired us with her strength, her warmth, and her joy.
Bri leaves behind a legacy as an athlete, a teacher, a mentor, and a friend. My life is richer for having known her.
Fly high, my friend. You will never be forgotten.
