Lisa Brounstein-Gaffney on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Lisa Brounstein-Gaffney and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What battle are you avoiding?
Life doesn’t usually give you a heads-up when it’s about to rearrange everything you know.

Of all the “ice breaker” questions, this one is the one that spoke to me. I don’t know that I am avoiding a battle, per se. I feel more like I am in the middle of one. Since my husband and I lost our home, his car, and my small business, Heart and Sol Designs, to the Eaton Fire in Altadena on January 8th, 2025, our life has been completely altered. I feel a bit like I am living a parallel life. I feel like me, mostly, but I am living a life with all new things in a new place, and the place I lived with ALL of my stuff and my business is gone, save for the dirt.

So, to answer the question: while keeping up with everything there is to do in life in order to build our home and build back Heart and Sol Designs, the battle I am avoiding is making the list of our personal items for the insurance company. The list isn’t just things like my Le Creuset Dutch ovens or the Mont Blanc pen my mom gave me, it’s also the afghan my grandma crocheted, or my wedding dress, or the silhouette that was done of me on Disney’s Main Street when I was 5. Making that list is emotional torture.

Given all of that, I know I am going to build back stronger. I will build a new stand alone website and I will continue to work with local events and shops.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Lisa Brounstein-Gaffney, the maker behind Heart and Sol Designs. I create hand-stamped metal jewelry and accessories that capture life’s big feelings, milestones, and everyday magic. Each piece is made using individual steel stamps and a hammer. The result? A perfectly imperfect keepsake as real as the life it represents. Like a fingerprint or a Persian rug, every item is unique. Right now, I’m rebuilding my business from the ground up after losing everything in the Eaton Fire earlier this year, including all my tools. Who knew that steel could be destroyed by heat, the actual thing that can also make it stronger? With new materials and the same old passion, I’m forging a fresh chapter for Heart and Sol, one whack at a time. My focus in these next few weeks is to build a new Heart and Sol web page and prepare for two big events. One is the AltaArts Collective Craft Fair and then I am very excited to be a part of the Christmas Tree Lane Festival!

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I don’t know that there was one moment that shaped how I see the world. I know that I have always looked for the good in people—even from people who have wronged me or who are no longer in my life. I try and see how life is for others and then accept them and the situation… even if I’m not happy about it.

If I look back on my life and look at milestones, I can’t think of just one “moment” that had the most influence on how I see the world—my parents’ divorce, moving to San Diego, my mom marrying my stepdad, school, college, relationships, performing stand-up, marrying my husband, starting Heart and Sol Designs, buying our home, all my friends who have passed, losing 200 pounds, becoming a personal trainer (CPT), my stepdad passing, losing our home and my business to fire and everything in between…

All of those moments inform who I am and how I am in the world.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I have definitely had my share of struggles in life. Building Heart and Sol was a labor of love, and it’s that again. I don’t want to sound like a broken record by saying “fire” over and over again, but truly, since we left our home the night of January 7th, I have had to remind myself to just keep moving forward.

Losing everything has become a full-time job—and I work a job I love, and I have a business I love. It has been exhausting in every way: physically, emotionally, mentally. Many days, I just want to curl up into a ball and cry. Well… many days, I do cry. I cry a lot. I was a crier well before our life was incinerated. Happy tears and sad tears were no stranger to my face.

Every day, I wonder, how in the world will I get all of this done?! And then, I stop and take a deep breath. Maybe I cry a little. And then I move on and get stuff done.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I guess I’m like Popeye. I am who I am. Who I am publicly is who I am privately. I don’t put on airs.

That said, I do think there are different ways of being with people and talking to people. The same story told to my mom versus how I’d tell my husband might sound a little different. But the facts would be the same.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
This is a good question for me because I have had the opportunity to see what my customers are missing. Even though my gifts are personalized, I get a lot of repeat business.

Since my Etsy shop has been closed since the fire (all of the gifts I used to make have to be remade and photographed again, since all of my stamps are different now… all of my custom alphabet stamps and all of my design stamps were destroyed…), people continue to reach out for dog tags for their new pets, and the wedding penny I make remains one of my most popular items. Recently, there’s been a growing demand for my Altadena keychains and bracelets. They’re not just wanted, but truly needed by people looking to hold onto something meaningful.

I don’t just work with metal. I work with memory and intention and love. These are timeless keepsakes: beautiful, heartfelt reminders of the people, places, and moments that matter most.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heartandsoldesigns.com
• Instagram: @heartandsoldesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartAndSolDesigns