Amanda Fenker

One year ago, we brought home our rescue dog, Stevie. She was around five and had spent her life as a breeding dog. She had never been inside a home. She had lived locked in a kennel with twelve other dogs, fed from piles of food scattered on the ground. When she arrived, she was terrified, often frozen in fear, overweight, and unsure of the world around her. She didn’t know how to walk on a leash or play with a toy. She didn’t understand couches or soft beds. She held herself so low to the...

At Empower and Shine, everything we create begins with one simple belief: every person deserves to feel seen, loved, and empowered . We are honored to introduce our newest journals, thoughtfully designed for children and families. These journals were created as gentle companions for growing hearts, offering space for reflection, expression, and healing without fear, shame, or pressure. At the center of these journals are two tools we are lovingly calling our Sunshine Wheels . Why Sunshine...

Choosing beauty where it isn't always obvious is almost completely what takes up my artist brain. In every setting I enter, in every story I hear, finding the beauty and turning it into art consumes me. When a couple of us with Empower and Shine first learned about Lilias Trotter, it felt like we were learning about ourselves in a past life, in a past century. Some stories stay with us not because they are loud or dramatic, but because they are quietly brave. Lilias Trotter’s life is one of...