In March of 1912, a man named C. Austin Miles — pharmacist by trade, hymn writer by vocation — sat in the darkroom where he developed photographs and kept his organ, opened his Bible to the twentieth chapter of John, and read the story of Mary Magdalene meeting the risen Jesus in a garden on Easter morning. He later said that as the light faded against the blue wall, he saw the whole scene unfold — Mary in white, the winding path shaded by olive branches, the moment she turned and recognized her Lord. He wrote the poem that became I Come to the Garden Alone that afternoon and the music that same evening. It has been sung by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Doris Day, Loretta Lynn, the Statler Brothers, and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, but the song was first written about the most personal thing imaginable: the intimate, daily relationship between a soul and the God who walks with it. He walks with me, He talks with me, He tells me I am His own. For Kate Shu, founder of this collective, this hymn is also Alda Mae Hightshoe — her grandmother, Master Gardener, the woman whose final wish was that Kate would sing this song when she died. Beth Grimm painted the garden where the meeting happens. The mug is for the people who keep their dead close, and for the mornings when remembering you are not, in fact, alone is the whole morning's work.
About Artist Beth Grimm:
Beth Grimm is an Iowa native, a photographer, painter, mixed-media artist, and writer who has spent more than seventy-five years building a life shaped by creativity, resilience, and reinvention. Her path has never been linear — and that is precisely the point.
After marrying young, raising two children, and supporting her husband through dental school, Beth reached a turning point in her thirties: she had built a life, but somewhere along the way she had lost connection with her own. In 1978, she moved to California with her kids and started over. She helped launch her brother's law practice, put herself through paralegal school, and then made the audacious decision to go to law school. She was 34 when she started, 38 when she graduated, and by 40 she had built her own practice. For the next three decades she became known as the “California Condo Guru” and “The Plain English Lawyer” — a homeowners association attorney who taught, wrote, and spoke her way into helping thousands of people navigate complex systems with clarity and confidence.
Creativity was never separate from any of it. Writing, photography, and art were how Beth processed, expressed, and connected through every chapter. She studied photography seriously and traveled for years to workshops across the country, and as she began transitioning out of law in her mid-sixties, photography quietly became her anchor. At 70, she marked a single unforgettable day: her retirement, her first art exhibition, and her birthday, all at once. Today her work is rooted in photography but extends far beyond it — layered, expressive pieces built through digital manipulation, collage, and mixed media. She was teaching iPhone-based artmaking long before it became widely recognized, and spent two years of the pandemic teaching art online to help others find their own creative voice.
For nearly a decade, while living in Benicia, California, Beth developed a daily practice of walking and observing — capturing what she calls her “story images,” the colorful, layered, narrative-driven moments that became the foundation of her artistic work. In 2025, she relocated to Hillsborough, North Carolina, where four generations of her family now live within a few miles of one another. She is currently writing her memoir and has already published The Great Grandpa Chronicles, a book about her father and the unexpected, hard-won path toward understanding and forgiveness.
Beth lives now by the same words she offers anyone who will listen: “Create as if your heart depends on it — because it does.” Her work is a quiet argument that it is never too late, that every chapter counts, and that the most interesting lives are the ones that loop back to the thing that was always there.
Beth Grimm is a valued member of the Monarch Shoppe family.
About this Mug:
- Available in 11 oz, 15 oz, and 20 oz
- Premium white gloss finish
- Printed using dye sublimation technology — the image is fused directly into the ceramic surface for vivid, true-to-life color that won't fade, crack, or peel. Ever.
- Handle stays cool even when your water is boiling
- Microwave and dishwasher safe
- Print quality is exceptional — exactly as pictured
A Kate Shu Collective exclusive, available only at the Monarch Shoppe.
In March of 1912, a man named C. Austin Miles — pharmacist by trade, hymn writer by vocation — sat in the darkroom where he developed photographs and kept his organ, opened his Bible to the twentieth chapter of John, and read the story of Mary Magdalene meeting the risen Jesus in a garden on Easter morning. He later said that as the light faded against the blue wall, he saw the whole scene unfold — Mary in white, the winding path shaded by olive branches, the moment she turned and recognized her Lord. He wrote the poem that became I Come to the Garden Alone that afternoon and the music that same evening. It has been sung by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Doris Day, Loretta Lynn, the Statler Brothers, and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, but the song was first written about the most personal thing imaginable: the intimate, daily relationship between a soul and the God who walks with it. He walks with me, He talks with me, He tells me I am His own. For Kate Shu, founder of this collective, this hymn is also Alda Mae Hightshoe — her grandmother, Master Gardener, the woman whose final wish was that Kate would sing this song when she died. Beth Grimm painted the garden where the meeting happens. The mug is for the people who keep their dead close, and for the mornings when remembering you are not, in fact, alone is the whole morning's work.
About Artist Beth Grimm:
Beth Grimm is an Iowa native, a photographer, painter, mixed-media artist, and writer who has spent more than seventy-five years building a life shaped by creativity, resilience, and reinvention. Her path has never been linear — and that is precisely the point.
After marrying young, raising two children, and supporting her husband through dental school, Beth reached a turning point in her thirties: she had built a life, but somewhere along the way she had lost connection with her own. In 1978, she moved to California with her kids and started over. She helped launch her brother's law practice, put herself through paralegal school, and then made the audacious decision to go to law school. She was 34 when she started, 38 when she graduated, and by 40 she had built her own practice. For the next three decades she became known as the “California Condo Guru” and “The Plain English Lawyer” — a homeowners association attorney who taught, wrote, and spoke her way into helping thousands of people navigate complex systems with clarity and confidence.
Creativity was never separate from any of it. Writing, photography, and art were how Beth processed, expressed, and connected through every chapter. She studied photography seriously and traveled for years to workshops across the country, and as she began transitioning out of law in her mid-sixties, photography quietly became her anchor. At 70, she marked a single unforgettable day: her retirement, her first art exhibition, and her birthday, all at once. Today her work is rooted in photography but extends far beyond it — layered, expressive pieces built through digital manipulation, collage, and mixed media. She was teaching iPhone-based artmaking long before it became widely recognized, and spent two years of the pandemic teaching art online to help others find their own creative voice.
For nearly a decade, while living in Benicia, California, Beth developed a daily practice of walking and observing — capturing what she calls her “story images,” the colorful, layered, narrative-driven moments that became the foundation of her artistic work. In 2025, she relocated to Hillsborough, North Carolina, where four generations of her family now live within a few miles of one another. She is currently writing her memoir and has already published The Great Grandpa Chronicles, a book about her father and the unexpected, hard-won path toward understanding and forgiveness.
Beth lives now by the same words she offers anyone who will listen: “Create as if your heart depends on it — because it does.” Her work is a quiet argument that it is never too late, that every chapter counts, and that the most interesting lives are the ones that loop back to the thing that was always there.
Beth Grimm is a valued member of the Monarch Shoppe family.
About this Mug:
- Available in 11 oz, 15 oz, and 20 oz
- Premium white gloss finish
- Printed using dye sublimation technology — the image is fused directly into the ceramic surface for vivid, true-to-life color that won't fade, crack, or peel. Ever.
- Handle stays cool even when your water is boiling
- Microwave and dishwasher safe
- Print quality is exceptional — exactly as pictured
A Kate Shu Collective exclusive, available only at the Monarch Shoppe.
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