We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cindy Amaya. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cindy below.

Cindy , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

Earning your first dollar as a creative is very gratifying. It’s so rewarding knowing that someone is willing to spend their hard earned money on something you created. It gives validation that you’re doing things right. It doesn’t seize to amaze me that I earn my living by something I create. It gives me the motivation to continue creating and coming up with new ideas.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi I’m Cindy a native 956 girl and live in Houston with my husband and our two fur babies. I Plant and Clay started from my love of plants, nature and creating jewelry. I’ve worked with various types of materials to create jewelry, but when I discovered polymer clay, it opened a whole new creative door for me. I could now create plant and nature inspired pieces! When I started creating, never in my wildest dreams, did I think I would be making a living or starting a business. I was wearing one of my plant inspired earrings to one of my favorite nurseries and they asked me where I had gotten them from. Obviously my answer was “I made them!” Some of the employees were interested in purchasing some from me but doubt filled my head. I wasn’t sure if I was any good at my craft and I knew nothing about selling. After giving it some thought, I made 10 pairs of earrings. Went back and sold 9 and thought “yay me!” They later reached out and asked if I would be interested in participating in an artisanal market. I was nervous and hesitant about it since I still worked a regular job, but then COVID hit and my hours were cut back and thought “well let’s give it a go.” And that’s how it all began!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Before I Plant and Clay, I worked in the medical field for 20 years. But then COVID hit and my hours got reduced. This allowed me more time to pursue this passion. I began to participate in markets and absolutely enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people. Seeing the positive response to my creations and being able to earn some income was very gratifying. With time my hours at my regular job went back to normal and I knew something had to give. I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with both my regular job, creating and participating in markets. I set myself a time frame and goal to see which would be the one I had to let go of. It was a very scary thought to leave my regular job, the financial security, benefits, etc. Well, after a year of hustling, I took a giant leap of faith and left my regular job. You honestly never know what life has in store for you and how it can change.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I struggled, and still do, with worrying about having an online presence. I get asked frequently how people can purchase online. But it is almost impossible to find the time to be able to photograph each piece and list each one as most are one of a kind. For me it’s difficult to create, handle all aspects of running a small business, participate in markets and try to find time to get a website going. Even with these struggles I am amazed to see how wonderful our community is! I have several customers who follow me on Instagram and shop from my stories. I’ll setup for my market, do a slow story for those who are unable to come out, and they screenshot images and send me DMs. The want and struggle of having an online presence is always on my mind, but I’m trusting that it will happen at it’s due time.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @iplantandclay
• Facebook: @iplantandclay

Image Credits
@Mytexasjourney (photo credit for portrait photo of myself)