Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Murcia.
Hi Catherine , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started in 2024, after I had my firstborn son. I never imagined myself owning a business. It was never part of some big plan I had for my life, but looking back, I truly believe God was opening doors for me before I even knew where they would lead. Sometime around May, I began looking around at all the vintage art supplies I had collected over the years—leather planners, stamping materials, paintbrushes, painting tools, and so much more. Most of it was sitting unused, and I knew I didn’t want to simply donate things I had invested so much into. Being married and starting a family, I knew that my hobbies were going to take a long pause before I could ever do something for just me. At the same time, I was a new mama trying to find community. I had created a Facebook page mainly so I could join local parent groups. After having my baby, I wanted to get out of the house, meet other mothers, and find places where my little one and I could spend time with other mamas and their children. One day, while scrolling through local groups, I came across a flyer looking for vendors. I honestly didn’t even know what being a “vendor” meant, but I saw that people could sell vintage items. And suddenly I thought, “Maybe I could do that.”
One idea quickly turned into another.
My husband happened to be away on a mission outside of the country that day, and I still remember calling him and telling him all about this idea. I asked him if we could come up with a small budget so I could purchase the basics I would need for pop-up markets—a tent, tables, tablecloths, a chair, and a few display pieces. Of course, before buying anything, I watched YouTube videos to “educate” myself because I was determined not to spend money on things I wouldn’t use long-term. My husband listened to my idea, gave me a budget, and just like that, I ordered everything I needed. That was the beginning. Little by little, I started booking events and meeting other small business owners. During that first year, our family drove all around Oregon attending markets and events. Along the way, I met so many women—especially other mamas—who were also trying to build something of their own. Those conversations began changing the direction of my business. I realized I didn’t want to simply sell my vintage materials. I wanted to create something meaningful, especially for mamas. Motherhood had already changed me deeply, and I felt passionate about sharing some of what I had experienced through pregnancy, postpartum, and learning to care for myself while caring for a little one. That was when my little business began becoming a brand.
At first, I began selling modest dresses for mamas. After having a baby, one reality had hit me very personally: our bodies change after giving life. It is sacred and beautiful, but those changes can also be difficult to navigate. I wanted women to have clothing that allowed them to feel feminine, comfortable, modest, and beautiful during those changing seasons. I designed my website, worked on my branding and logo, and eventually introduced this new vision to the world in February 2025. I continued attending markets, being invited to events, meeting customers, and slowly growing. Then I became pregnant again. Pregnancy takes a significant toll on my body, and I began realizing that the kind of business I was building also had to fit our lifestyle and growing family. When my second-born came to us in the fall of 2024, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life: I left my career to become a stay-at-home mama.
Before that, I had worked as an Early Interventionist for more than seven years. Through earning my master’s degree and spending more than seven years working directly with families and their young children, social workers, speech-language pathologists, physical therapists, and other professionals, I gained a deep appreciation for early childhood development and for just how important those first years of a child’s life are.
That experience only strengthened my desire to be present for my own children during these crucial years. Toward the end of that year, I also decided to discontinue the dresses. With three little ones, hauling clothing racks, inventory, and displays to events by myself simply wasn’t practical anymore. Once again, the business began changing with our family. I shifted my focus toward natural skincare, handcrafted gift boxes, prayer candles, and simple products I genuinely enjoyed sharing with everyone. I became especially passionate about being more intentional about the ingredients we bring into our homes and the products we use on our skin—especially when we have little ones around us. And then, this summer, another door opened. My father built me a little farmstand.
That simple gift inspired an entire rebrand and a new chapter for the business: Fields & Cottage. I began offering fresh sourdough bread from our little stand alongside the skincare, candles, herbal goods, and other handmade items. It somehow brought everything together. The homemade bread, the natural products and the handmade goods. –The slower pace. The ability to create something with my hands while still being right here with my children.
Today, Fields & Cottage is still a very small business—and I am grateful for that. Being a stay-at-home mama is my priority. This business isn’t about becoming something enormous overnight. It allows me to work at my own pace, contribute to our family, use the gifts God has given me, and most importantly, remain present for my children.There are days when bread comes out later than planned because babies need me. There are seasons when I can create more and seasons when I have to slow down. And I have learned that this is part of the beauty of it.
What began with a box of unused art supplies and hobby, has slowly become something I never could have planned myself, only through the grace of God.
Through every transition—from vintage finds, to dresses for mamas, to natural goods, and now to fresh sourdough and our little farmstand—God has continued opening one door at a time. And now, another beautiful door is opening: this fall, Fields & Cottage products will soon be available in a storefront! It is something I never imagined when this journey first began, and I am so grateful to see where God continues to lead this little business.
Fields & Cottage continues to grow alongside our family. Small batch. Handmade. Intentional. All handcrafted with love, while I raise my babies who inspired me to choose this life in the first place.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since 2022, I have pretty much been pregnant or postpartum nonstop, having my babies back-to-back. It has truly been a life-changing season, and one of the most beautiful parts of growing this business is realizing that my children are growing alongside it too. They see what I make. They see the bread, the products, the boxes, the late nights, and the mornings when we open the farmstand together. One day, my now three-year-old looked at me and asked, “Are you making sourdough?” I remember looking at him completely shocked and saying, “Wait… what?!” He knew exactly what I was doing. That little moment stayed with me because it reminded me that our children really do see everything. He loves helping me open the farmstand in the mornings, and my children have naturally become part of this little business. One day, if it is something they desire, I would love for them to continue it in their own way.
This journey has taught me so much. I have experienced market failures and market successes. I have learned which events are worth prioritizing and which ones simply are not the right fit for our family or business. I always say that I am a student who keeps learning because every single day teaches me something new.
Every market teaches me something. Every customer teaches me something. Every mistake teaches me something. Even the late-night shenanigans with my husband beside me, helping me prepare for the next day, have become part of the story.
During all of this, we have moved about three times. I have worked with very limited space. Products, supplies, displays, and boxes have been reorganized more times than I can count.
And through all that learning, I have also learned to become more flexible. I give myself much more grace now. If something needs to change again, I am okay with it. In the beginning, I think I was much more focused on people noticing us, liking our products, and hopefully purchasing something. Of course, sales still matter when you are running a small business, but my perspective has changed. Now, I genuinely enjoy simply having conversations with people. Some people leave with a product in their hands. Others leave without purchasing anything but with a smile after a good conversation, and I have learned that there can be value in both. Recently, at a pop-up, I spent more than thirty minutes talking with a young woman. Our conversation became much deeper than anything related to what I was selling, and it was beautiful. I believe our world needs a little more of that. We need one another. We need real, raw, intentional conversations. Sometimes you may meet someone for only one day and never see them again, but for those few minutes, you can simply be present with another person. Those moments somehow make the sleepless nights, the late preparations, the heavy hauling, and all the work of scheduling a business around three little children feel a little lighter. And scheduling around my children has taught me something else very important: this business has to remain in its proper place. There have been markets I have paid for months in advance and fully planned to attend, only for something to change at the last minute. Maybe my husband gets called away for a mission, or one of my children wakes up sick and needs me.
When that happens, I cancel.
I always send a thoughtful email and apologize because I deeply respect the time and work market coordinators put into organizing these events and allowing me to participate as a vendor. But I have also come to understand something very clearly:There will always be another market. There will not always be another opportunity to be fully present with my child who needs me today, right now. That is one of the greatest gifts this little business has given me—the ability to continue creating and growing while still remembering why I chose this life in the first place.
My children come first.
The business grows around our family, not the other way around.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I would say that I am simply a mama who truly cares about holistic, handmade, and natural skincare, while also wanting to share products that carry a little more meaning.
That is part of why our prayer candles are so special to me. I hope they can bring a little light into the world and serve as a simple reminder that, whatever we may be carrying, we can always pause and pray about it.
At the end of the day, we are all human. We all experience joy, loss, uncertainty, hope, and seasons when we need each other.
I believe remembering our shared humanity can unite us a little more amidst so much division in the world. Even through something as small as a handmade product, a conversation at a market, or the lighting of a prayer candle, I hope Fields & Cottage can offer a little comfort, connection, and a reminder that we truly do need one another.
I would also add that something that sets me apart is my accent and the story behind it. I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, and Spanish was my first language. I grew up speaking only Spanish and was fully introduced to English around the age of eight or nine. So yes, you may hear my thick accent come through—and it is very much a part of who I am and where I come from.
Both of my parents are from El Salvador, and my husband is also originally from El Salvador—something I certainly never planned, but God did!
Being a first-generation woman with my background has not always been easy, but those experiences have shaped me deeply. They have taught me to persevere, to be determined and to be courageous in pursuing what I believe in and to not give up at the first hard situation.
My roots, my language, my family, my motherhood, and all the experiences that have brought me here are part of the story behind Fields & Cottage.
And through every part of it, it has all been possible through God’s grace.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
As a young girl, I remember loving music, dancing, fairy tales, and just about every chapter book I could get my hands on. I was quiet and definitely very self-conscious and insecure, but somehow I always had friends around me. Looking back, I see that as such a gift. Even with the fighting that naturally come with friendships, I am grateful that I had people around me throughout those years.
I also believe that many of my experiences, including the painful and uncomfortable ones, helped shape me and gave me the grit to keep moving forward even when things were difficult.
I remember my freshman year of high school when I decided to try out for the wrestling team simply because a few of my friends were doing it. I was paired with a boy who was around my weight, but he was much stronger than I was. I remember going home afterward and saying, “I will never, ever do that again!”
And I didn’t. Wrestling was definitely not for me.
But what I remember most about that experience is that I actually did it. I stepped into something completely unfamiliar, put myself outside of my comfort zone, and was brave enough to try.
Looking back, I can see that there were many little moments like that throughout my childhood and teenage years. I may have been insecure, shy, or afraid, but I was still willing to try things, learn from my experiences, and keep moving forward. I did not recognize it as courage at the time, but now I can see that those experiences were already beginning to shape the perseverance and grit I carry with me today.
Pricing:
- Whipped Tallow: $22-40
- Prayer Candles: $24-$28
- Herbal & Botanical Goods: $12-$32
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fieldsandcottage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldsandcottage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fieldsandcottage
- Other: fieldsandcottage@gmail.com
