Forged Flare

I'm Jen, the heart behind handcrafted ornaments made in TX. Learning to play the ukulele & speak Dutch (not at the same time); Tech & Tesla geek & cat lover!

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@TechOperator … and a visor case 😅

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@chrislynnstreet and I were devastated when we heard the news that @CoyoteDriveIn was closing its doors after their lease wasn’t renewed. It’s heartbreaking, sad, and infuriating. It was our theater of choice since we moved here, and we’ve lost count of how many times we made the trek to Ft. Worth to not only watch a movie, but to share in an experience.

We made one last visit a couple of nights ago to watch The End of Oak Street.

We snapped our final photos (🥺), ordered our last concessions, and genuinely enjoyed the show.

Before the night was over, we even gave an impromptu interview for the @wfaa 10:00 news (I guess our recent interviewing experience has paid off 😂. But seriously, we are both still looking for animation and design jobs in case you know someone—it’s brutal out there)!

Thanks again Coyote for all the wonderful memories, and thanks for making our final night the most memorable of all! ❤️

https://t.co/LIUBA9kB6b

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

Necessity is the mother of invention… or apparently the reason I just spent the last couple of days building my own image compression app for macOS. 😂

I do a TON of batch image work, and I have a very specific way I need to compress images — either to a target KB size or by percentage. I’ve used the same little app for years, but it’s about to stop working with future versions of macOS.

And losing it would seriously mess with my workflow.

So… apparently I build apps now. 😂

I started by creating a comp in Figma (another tool I’m currently teaching myself because why not add one more thing to the list?) and then used Grok to help me actually build it through a whole lot of vibe coding. Basically: “Here’s what I need this to do.” Test. Break something. Fix it. Change my mind. Add something else. Repeat.

And somehow… I now have an app that works exactly the way I need it to.

I do want to give a HUGE amount of credit to my former colleague Matt, who built the original app I’ve relied on for years. His work was absolutely the starting point for this. I took that foundation and started adapting, changing and adding things to make it work specifically for my day-to-day workflow.

This is totally a personal project. I’m not putting it in the App Store or trying to become an app developer. 😂 I just needed a tool and didn’t want to give up a process that saves me a ridiculous amount of time.

Of course, approximately five minutes after I finished it, I thought of several more things I want to change.

Those are next week Jen’s problem. 😂

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@dayumitsskai I loved them! Have the bunny one on my cup already 😁

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@dayumitsskai Dude you got a ton of positive reception from this post! 👏 (BTW, I love it!)

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

Okay, this is pretty darn cool. 🥹❤️

I’m incredibly excited to share that I wrote the cover story for the July issue of Handmade Seller Magazine!

The article, “Why Every Handmade Business Needs Core Content,” shares some of what I’ve learned while building Forged Flare® — from handling the dreaded “You’re too expensive!” comments to turning customer questions and frustrations into content that builds trust and connection.

I’m so honored to have had the opportunity to share my story, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

You can read it here: https://t.co/Rz98MqnOxO

[Chris Street @chrislynnstreet]

My first work at id Software was Mars Core. I animated the characters,I was the mocap actor for half of them, I was the worker who’s dragged by the neck.With this version I found on YouTube, you can hear my voice as that same character yelling What? Why? https://t.co/SeE5XD9ES9

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

Well... today wasn't a day we expected.

Like many incredibly talented people, my husband @chrislynnstreet was affected by Microsoft's/Xbox's layoffs today. He's spent years doing what he loves as an animator at id Software, and we're incredibly proud of the work he's contributed to. While he updates his demo reel, resume, and shot breakdown, I'm hoping my network might know of opportunities in gaming, animation, or film.

You can see some of his work here:
🎬 IMDb: https://t.co/uqMCj8DV38

As for me... this has also become a moment to pivot.

Over the past several years, I've poured everything into building Forged Flare® from the ground up. What started as an idea during the pandemic became a nationally recognized e-commerce brand. I designed every product, built and maintain our Shopify website, developed our UX, created our marketing strategy, managed SEO, email marketing, social media, photography, branding, fulfillment systems, technology integrations, trademarks, vendor relationships... basically, if you've seen it, there's a good chance I built it.

Before that, I spent more than 20 years designing digital experiences for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 brands, working with organizations including Walmart, CVS, eBay, ASDA, Microsoft, Samsung, Nintendo, Google, Disney, Coca-Cola, PayPal, FedEx, and many others. My passion has always been helping businesses solve problems through thoughtful design, user experience, and strategy.

I'm updating my portfolio and resume, but if your company is looking for someone with deep experience in UX, product design, e-commerce, creative direction, branding, digital marketing, or conversion optimization, I'd truly appreciate an introduction or conversation.

In the meantime, you can see what I've built at Forged Flare®:
https://t.co/8C3tqoZFVx

If you've worked with either of us and know of an opportunity that might be a good fit, we'd be incredibly grateful if you'd share it or make a connection.

Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for thinking of us. We know we're not the only family navigating unexpected changes today, and we're hopeful that the right opportunity is out there for both of us.

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

COLOMBIA WINS! 🇨🇴

All of the lights throughout our entire house (inside and outside) flash in the winning team’s colors. They also flash the colors of the team that scores, yellow cards and red cards. 🤓

Absolutely loving all the World Cup matches and reading stories from all the visitors to the U.S.!

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@GarrettMelcer Such a fun game! Incredibly blessed to be able to attend. Watching Musa score was one of the things I wished for at this game!

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

What an incredible experience. #fifaworldcup

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@MichelobULTRA We did! 😂

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

I got to see the Dutch Oranjebus yesterday! Such a fun time. Dutch party music is highly underrated. 😂

We’re going to the England vs. Croatia World Cup game tomorrow. Cannot wait!

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@HuinGuillaume Oooo! I grew up in East Tennessee and never knew this!

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@HNS_CFF @FCDallas @FIFAWorldCup @MLS So excited! Attending our first ever World Cup game on Wednesday to watch Musa play!

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@Michael46116047 @SawyerMerritt @SpaceX @SoFi For real. It’s disheartening for sure. 😖

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@GarrettMelcer Such an amazing time. We had the absolute best seats! So grateful for the opportunity to be there.

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

First solo 16 hour drive from North Texas to East Tennessee. Add in exhaustion and a little driving anxiety and it’s enough of a mental game. Then throw in some flying road debris and suddenly you’re wide awake again.

@tesla FSD saved me from two incidents two minutes apart. Grateful!

I just wish they would consider adding a panic PIN in case of a carjacking situation.

[Forged Flare @forgedflare]

@wholemars A panic pin to drive. Not your normal pin, but a pin to alert Tesla/police/contacts that you’ve been carjacked.