Thank you to everyone for your continued support throughout the years. As 2025 comes to a close, I have been reflecting on the journey my little business has been on. I started creating sculptures and jewelry out of pebbles when I was working a full-time job in sales. I had started out as the graphic designer, but sitting in a windowless office all day, every day, started to get to me. When the position in sales opened up, I asked to be given a chance. I, like most, have always hated pushy salesmen, and I am not the most aggressive personality type, so I knew that this new journey was going to be an uncomfortable one. I also knew that it was a challenge that would help me grow in areas I was very comfortable ignoring in myself. I learned to accept rejection for what it was—an uncomfortable inevitability in life. I learned to really listen to my customers' needs, because when you give them what they are asking for, you do not need to be a pushy salesman! I also learned that most customers are beautiful and kind—regardless of what the internet may show us—there are really very few "Karens" in the world.
We used to joke about how we all had customers who were very much like our own personalities. My co-worker who was high-strung had high-strung customers; I had laid-back customers, etc. I found that to actually be a very profound observation, and I think about it a lot. When we simply choose to reject negativity, instead of playing into it, the negativity simply goes in search of someone who will dance with them. What an amazing lesson to have learned at such a young age!
Today I am thankful for all of you beautiful people who have chosen to dance this dance of life with me. Being creative is my life's blood. Whether it is through my graphic design, gardening, or cooking—whatever it may be—creating things that make this world a little more bearable is what brings joy to my heart. It brings me closer to God and to my true self by shutting out all of the background noises. I often joke that on days when I am deep in my design brain, I lose hours. I sit down to work on creating something, and in the blink of an eye, hours have passed by. I don't hear the outside world, and time stands still. I see that as being in communication with God and the Holy Spirit. Writers often talk about getting inspiration from Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry in Greek mythology.
If memory serves me right, I believe that the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts was the first shop to carry my work. I was there on a sales call, and we got to chatting about my art background, and I mentioned the jewelry and sculptures I was creating. To my utter disbelief, they actually loved my designs and asked if I would want to sell them in their shop. That gave me the little boost of confidence I needed to apply to local art organizations. I became a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Artists, Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors, and the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and I began doing shows with them. I was accepted into an Associated Artists of Pittsburgh gallery show at Fallingwater in 2006, where things really began to change for me. I had two of my sculptures accepted into the show. After years of putting my art on a back shelf, this felt like a very big sign from God that creating pieces wasn't merely a selfish endeavor—there was some sort of purpose behind it. Both of my pieces sold, and I received commissions for additional pieces as well.
It was there that I had the idea of creating jewelry pieces inspired by the architecture of that amazing house and its surroundings. I had "just enough" wine to give me the confidence to pitch the idea to them, and shockingly—they bought them! Without ever investing a dollar into this new business, I was commissioned to create these pieces for the Fallingwater store. I began imagining jewelry pieces inspired by Pittsburgh bridges and their beautiful truss designs. I applied for the Emerging Artist grant with the Three Rivers Arts Festival, pitching those designs—and I got it. After that, I created the Steel Town collection, which are very simplified versions of Pittsburgh's most recognizable landmarks. I love having the size and cutting limitations because it forces me to say a lot with very little.
In 2019, I had my best year yet and felt as though I finally knew what my company was. I had Audra Azoury Designs, as well as the Pittsburgh Gift Company, and I was selling my Pittsburgh designs throughout the Pittsburgh area. I was part of the Holiday Market in the Square every year, as well as a loyal Handmade Arcade vendor... and then our world changed. All of my local shops shut down during COVID, and my biggest shop, which was in the Pittsburgh International Airport, shut down for good. This was a period of reinvention for so many of us. We had a choice to make—we could drown in hopelessness or find a new path.
That was when I began working on designs for each National Park. Where did that idea come from? I would say that it was given to me loud and clear from the Holy Spirit. When I am at my lowest, I become still, and I listen. I am now in National Park shops across our great nation, including the National Mall. I think that we can all wholeheartedly agree that our government is broken—but the "Karens" do not define our country. We the People do. We, the mothers, fathers, artists, and workers who are beyond grateful every day for the kindness of strangers and Thanksgiving dinners with the ones we get to call "our people."
I joined another Pittsburgh artist group last year—the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators—and have had two pieces voted into their My America: An Illustrated Experience show, which is taking place at the Heinz History Center from now through most of 2026. The call came for pieces that explain what "My America" means to us individually—however we see this country.
I had just been going through bins that I hastily packed up when cleaning out my parents' house. One of the photo albums really stuck out to me—it was my father’s side of the family. My grandma, her siblings, parents, and grandpa. From their home in Wilkinsburg, PA, along a camping adventure to Washington, D.C., and as far as Arizona. I began reflecting on their lives as German immigrants, and it inspired me to do more research on the family. I found ship records, baptism records, census records, and draft records—all recording the lives of these people—once so young, now long gone from this earth. I decided to create My America illustrations on them—their unique personalities and their impact on America, specifically the Pittsburgh region.
This is the most fun I have had creating in a long time because there really wasn't any good (financial) reason for me to spend so much time on this—it was being creative just for the sake of creativity, and it was a blast! I love that I have transformed my great-grandmother Martha into a character, and I wonder what she would think about that! I was having breakfast with friends, and they mentioned how bloated they get from eating gluten. When I handed them Martha stickers, she said, "Yes! That's me on gluten!" and we had a great laugh over Martha's German stature. I know that Martha would have had a great laugh over that because, according to the photos in the album, Martha was always having a good laugh!
All of this reminiscing has me wanting to create more sculptures, so who knows where the next path will lead. I no longer question the path—I just follow the spotlight.
Every year I am asked if I have a physical location where people can come and shop. I am not sure that will ever be a reality, because when you really, really think about the reality of it—that is a commitment that would take away from my creative time and my journeys into the other realm—wherever it is that I go when I lose track of all time, make my best designs, and come up with my best ideas. Time will tell.
If you are interested, make a $100 donation (2 tickets) to the Society of Illustrators to join me and 35 other illustrators at the Heinz History Center Donor Reception on January 22, 2026, for the My America show. Everyone in this show is 1,000x more talented than me. You will be blown away by the talent that exists in this little steel town!
I am thankful that you are all on this journey with me. Keep sharing your stories with me! I love hearing about your connections to the places you love and what they mean to you. That's the absolute best part of my job! Thank you for sharing my website and socials with people—word of mouth is the best advertising. :)
Happy Thanksgiving!
xo,
Audra