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Phoebe Adams of Taylor has been making homemade jams, jellies, vanilla extract, and jewelry in the area for the past nine years. Adams used her skills in canning, passed down to her from her mother, to help her family bounce back from a series of disabling health issues.
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“I’ve been doing this for nine years. It all started when I had a couple of mini strokes and I was unemployed. My husband had just become disabled and we were looking for some way to pay for Christmas, so we started crafting and selling at the Snowflake-Taylor Chamber Christmas Bazaar,” recalled Adams.
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“The jams, jellies and vanilla really helped us get back on our feet and gave me something to do. I was doing the farmers market in Show Low for a while and that was a big rehabilitation because I had to pack in tables and it really got everything going again. The jams definitely helped bring the family together. My boys always help, they come help set up and break down.”
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Growing up and learning to can under her mother’s supervision was an activity that she always enjoyed. “When I was little, she had a huge garden and we always canned that. Most years, I have my own garden, as well.”
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In addition to the jams and jellies with flavors like pomegranate and blueberry jalapeño, Adams also makes a homemade vanilla extract which she also uses as an ingredient in her jams and jellies. “I use three different kinds of beans, so it has a very different flavor profile then what you find in the store. There are two different families and, depending on where they’re grown in the world, they take on a different flavor profile.”
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Adams also makes jewelry out of sterling silver to give people with allergies to base metals a chance to buy some sparkly jewelry. “I absolutely adore things that sparkle so that’s why I use Swarovski crystals because they have the best sparkle. I really love jewelry and I wanted to be a jeweler ever since I was a teenager and never had the chance or the money to get into it so I just started making little things and it’s gotten bigger and bigger since then.
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“A lot of people have allergies to base metals. All of my earrings have sterling silver over stainless steel post base. That’s how I got started with the jewelry, myself and my daughters have sensitivities to nickel so it was really hard to find good earrings. So, I started making them for ourselves.”
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Adams recently attended Snowflake’s Harvest Fest on Oct. 12, selling her jams and jellies in keeping with the harvest theme. Anyone looking to purchase any jams, jellies, or vanilla extract from Adams can place an order with her at (928) 243-5385.
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