We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelli McAbee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kelli, appreciate you joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Heck Yes! I am a one woman show over here. I’d love to be able to expand someday in the near future where I have a team of people helping me grow this business, but right now it relies solely on myself and with that comes a lot of really long days. countless hours spent on designing, prototyping, marketing, managing, etc. It’s rewarding but can also be as equally draining. Vacations are so important to me as they give me time to rest. To me, a vacation doesn’t always mean going on a trip to an exotic location, or a cross country road trip (that would be SO fun though). More often than not, it means giving myself time to leave my work behind me, without the guilt or the stress and take a much needed break. Give myself time to recharge and reset so that when I do come back to work, I come back with eagerness and fresh ideas.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

since I can remember, I have always had a creative and entrepreneurial spirit. From my earliest childhood memories I remember busying myself with paints and clays and any other art supplies I could get my hands on – always wanting to make something new, beautiful, and unique. I started experimenting with polymer clay for the first time in 2020 as a “passion project”. At the time I was a full time wedding and lifestyle photographer for the past 4 years. Business was slowing down alongside the rest of the world, and for the first time in a while, I was met with idle hands and a mind full of creative potential. At the time, my husband, 2 dogs, (Bear and Teddy) and myself lived full time in a renovated RV, and my workspace consisted of a small dining table (turned desk), a chair, and some really innovative storage methods for tight spaces. At first it was just a hobby. I was making gifts for friends and family and just trying to get the hang of different methods and techniques.I already had a small instagram account dedicated to creative work and I started posting about the jewelry (primarily earrings) that I was making, and people started showing interest really quickly. I decided after a few months of really honing in my skills that maybe I could make something of this hobby, and decided to launch Hello Teddy Co in the Fall of 2020. My favorite part about being a polymer clay artist is the prototyping stage. It’s where the ideas in my head come to life with clay right in front of my eyes. Sometimes it’s a messy fail and other times it turns into something truly amazing but either way, there’s no pressure behind it, just the freedom to create without boundaries. My style has definitely evolved over time. It took me a while to learn that I don’t have to limit myself when it comes to being creative, but I also don’t have to make absolutely everything that my brain could think up for a single collection. Finding my unique style for my business has been a journey, and it’s been formed and molded from my own personal style and a mix of fun colors and textures.
I think one of the most challenging aspects of being a polymer clay artist as a jewelry artisan is that it can be easy to lose myself in the comparison game. There are so many insanely talented artists within the same category as me, and I have to remind myself daily that there is room for me and my art.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am by no means a social media expert, but one thing I have learned is that it is a constant learning curve when it comes to growing your audience on social media, specifically instagram. The algorithms are ever changing and it seems that they make it harder and harder for small businesses to be seen nowadays. When I started Hello Teddy Co, I was sitting around 1,500 followers. Definitely not a bad start when trying to launch a creative business, but I have seen constant growth on my instagram account after the first 6 months or so when “Reels” started making their debut. I remember feeling SO awkward at the idea of having to get in front of the camera and post videos, instead of static photos. After all, I was a photographer by nature, so I really worked hard on creating a cohesive brand with photos on my page and I was comfortable with that. But Reels were a fantastic way to reach a much larger audience at a much faster rate than just posting a static photo. In my experience, social media is a great way to connect you and your brand with your potential clients and customers. This is why my goal, no matter what I post – whether it’s meant to bring valuable information, share tips and tricks of the trade, or even just to entertain – is to be authentic and genuine and vulnerable. Overall, getting comfortable in front of the camera, being vulnerable to put myself out there and show my face on my stories and my feed is what jumpstarted my audience growth from 1.5k to now 61K in the span of 2 years. (Side note; I will always advocate for a cohesive feed. whether it’s made up of photos, reels, or a healthy mix of the two. There is a presence and feeling of legitimacy of a brand who’s feed looks well put together. And I don’t mean throwing up a bunch of stock photos with your logo and/or brand colors visibly present. Your social media is an extension of your brand, it should reflect the way you want your business to be represented. This can be done through content pillars, and an overall aesthetic achieved through cohesive editing of reel cover photos and static image posts.) while numbers are important, growth on social media is not always linear. There are countless successful businesses who remain in a 1-5k follower range. It’s important to understand that the quality of you content AND your followers are much more important than the quantity.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe that creating genuine connections with my customer base and focusing on staying true to my own creative style is what helped build my reputation as a polymer clay artist. It’s one thing to be a small business owner who makes earrings and sells them online or at craft faire. It’s another thing to be the face of a small business, put yourself out there for the world to see, be open to criticism and always leave room for improvement and growth within your business. This is where the genuine connections are made.

Contact Info:

• Website: helloteddyco.com
• Instagram: @helloteddyco

Image Credits
Kelli McAbee