About

It’s not that I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up, it’s that I want to do so many things.

Hey there! I’m Sarah Mandell (my initials are SAM, which is where my shop name comes from), and I’m the brains and busy hands behind Once Again Sam. This indie craft business based in Greenville, SC, started out as a hobby in 2009, but after a few years it has become my dream job come true.

I graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005, and my career background is in commercial interior design, which I still do on the side (it’s a pretty fun day job so I couldn’t give it up altogether!) but these days my primary job is as a Maker. I never imagined I could earn a living this way, as a self-employed working artist, but I feel incredibly blessed to have the chance to create all day every day.

When I’m not making leather jewelry or needle felting curious things, I’m still creating, but with words writing fiction. I’ve had one novel published so far and the next is due out in a few months. It’s fair to say I live to create!