Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kiley Bertolacini. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kiley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on and integrated into my line would have to be my worry stones. My handmade ceramic worry stones were originally inspired by a calming stone my father kept close to him.

My father suffered from a disease that’s often misunderstood and in many cases overlooked – depression. After learning of his struggle, I gifted him a worry stone as a token of my love and with hopes of alleviating his pain. But as time passed, the dark became darker and in 2002 he left us. I was only 12-years old.

His passing regifted the stone back into my hands. My young, tender, innocent hands – and I held onto the stone as if it were treasure.

While working in my studio one night, I found myself gazing at my Dad’s worry stone. Like the flick of a switch, the concept for my next project became very clear to me. Not just to recreate worry stones out of clay, but to use my stamping technique to inscribe positive affirmations on them, serving as a soothing reminder for oneself or as a thoughtful gift for someone else.

While it may not be the most revolutionary idea, it’s one that brings me a considerable amount of comfort and self-healing. I created these stones as a reminder to myself and others to persevere, to accept life’s challenges, and to learn and grow from them.

The positive feedback from customers who have purchased my ceramic worry stones has been incredibly humbling and uplifting. I have big ideas for this product and I look forward to the journey it will lead me on.

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 Kiley!

Stay-at-home mom by day, ceramicist by night, residing in the quiet corner of CT.

I’ve been dabbling with ceramics for about 15 years, 8 of which I’ve been trying to establish my business, ‘km ceramics’, as it is known today. Within those fifteen years I’ve graduated with a BFA from Green Mountain College in Poultney, VT, worked for and learned from several well-known ceramic artists, bought a house, got married, and had two beautiful, spicy little boys.

After graduating college in 2012, I secured a job in Brattleboro, VT working for the extremely talented artist Laura Zindel. Laura came into my life following an amazing internship with Molly Hatch who exposed me to the engraving technique within the ceramic’s realm. I’ve since done engraving on some of my pieces. Securing a job with Laura was a great feeling. Finding a stable, full-time job in a field I’m passionate about while allowing me to further my education was perfect. I rented a tiny little apartment nestled in the hills of West Brattleboro, eager to start my next journey with ceramics. I spent the days working, afternoons hiking and evenings back in a small room off Laura’s studio where she allowed her employees to get creative. We were able to let our imagination wander, and I got to develop craft. I will forever be grateful to her and my college professor Karen Swyler for all the knowledge they instilled in me in those early years. Despite the amazing experience I was having, after about six months of working for Laura, the isolation of living alone in such a remote area weighed heavily on me. I deeply missed my friends, family, and my now husband. I ended up moving back to Rhode Island, where both my husband and I grew up. I was heartbroken in a lot of ways. I felt like I was failing myself and letting things get in my way of what I wanted to pursue.

Over the next four or five years, I held various jobs at cafe’s, warehouses and ceramic artists’ studios, until I finally landed a full-time position at Henrietta Glass, a glassblowing company in Pawtucket, RI. My responsibilities there were to take record of all orders from retail stores nationwide and to ensure that every order was packed and shipped out securely. While working there, my soon-to-be husband and I were house hunting with a requirement that there needed to be a studio space for me. I was bound and determined to continue my journey as an independent ceramicist and build a business for myself. I had become very fond of and comfortable with slip casting and knew that I wanted to use that technique in creating my pieces. I was not sure what kind of work I was going to make and sell at that time but whatever it was going to be, I was ready to put my all into it. After finding our home, acquiring a used kiln from a Paint Your Own business in NH and setting up my studio, I continued working for Henrietta Glass 40+ hours a week and coming home to work 3-4 hours in my own studio. A friend of mine sent me a video of the bubble glaze technique which I quickly grew to love, I added letter stamps to create some more uniqueness and km ceramics inventory started building. Initially I was marketing dinnerware but wasn’t thrilled with that being my brand. I didn’t feel like I was thinking outside the box enough. My college professor had always said “every object you make needs a purpose”, and I needed to figure out the story behind my pieces. From there, I started created more functional art that can be used daily by a wide range of consumers. The stamped sayings started off simple with just clever sayings and song lyrics but have now grown with me as a creator and the vibe of what I want my business to give off. I’m unfiltered but also an old soul. I find comfort and healing in mindfulness and positive affirmation but also in profanities and snarky sarcasm. From dinnerware, I moved on to molding and casting assorted sized bowls, tumblers, ornaments, jewelry trays and worry stones.

About five years in, working full-time for Henrietta Glass and creating ceramics in my home studio, my husband and I found out we were expecting. I knew that I wanted kids and to be a mom, but I also knew I wanted more than that. I promised myself I would not let being a mom defer me from my career goals. I worked until 39 weeks, gave birth and said goodbye to my job at Henrietta Glass. My husband and I had agreed that I would be staying at home with our son Ryder until he was school aged. I was thankful for the opportunity to be home with him and hoped it would also give me some time in the studio. For a while, we did find ourselves in a solid routine. I was balancing mom life and business life the best I could and had come to a point where I felt really good with my progress, my numbers and my growth. However, when my son Ryder was about 2.5 years old I unexpectedly got pregnant with my second baby boy. It was very difficult for me at first because I felt like I was so close to getting where I wanted to be but then I had to take so many steps backwards. After our son Jax was born, getting back into the studio was hard, time wise. I had a lot of other responsibilities that needed to come first, which of course I understood, especially when it came to my children. Because I did not work a typical 9-5 office job and had to manage somehow escaping to my basement studio, I needed to get creative. The real difficulty has always been trying to remember to make my business a priority even when others sometimes think of it more as a hobby. The support that I do have from family and friends has been invaluable.

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed selling my work at shows and events, on Etsy, through my social media pages and have learned a lot along the way. I’ve networked and met some amazing artists and creators, braved literal downpours and windstorms, and gotten lost in city streets. It has all been worth it! I am making products that I am happy to sell. My brand is evolving into something that I’ve envisioned for some time now. My ceramics will be speaking to the majority, not a specific person. Whether you are looking for a namaste moment while sipping your tea or need a badass motivational statement to get your day started while grabbing your jewelry, I’ve got you covered. This is realism at its finest. I’m here, ready to connect with my consumers on a slightly vulgar, but witty and powerful level. In today’s world, I believe we all need a little explicit humor in our lives. I’m here to encourage you with curse words and sweet sentiments, and that is just who I am.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The mission for km ceramics is to promote a brand that embodies positivity with an added flair of good-natured profanity, aiming to connect with those in need of an extra dose of sunshine, laughter and encouragement.

My current goal is to pin down my target audience and have km ceramics flourish into the business I envision. The challenge for me—likely an ongoing one—is the inability to achieve my long-term business aspirations instantly. I’m constantly having to remind myself to take it slow, concentrate on what I can control, and manage and prioritize tasks effectively.

I’m eagerly excited to continue expanding my brand and reach the people that my work speaks to.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

While the art of slip-casted ceramics holds a high rank in the excitement & enthusiasm I have for my work, I’ve discovered that the affirmations, sweet or salty, and the lyrics I integrate into my products are what truly sustains & fuels my passion of being a maker. Being able to carry that through my work and have it resonate with my customers has been my outlet and by far the most rewarding for me. It’s allowing me to create and build connections with a vast range of people.

I believe that art has the ability to emotionally impact anyone, if they let it.

It’s extremely important to me to share both the highs and lows that come with creating a small business. We’ve been conditioned to think that sharing our failures and difficult days is like “airing your dirty laundry.” I cannot express how much I disagree with that perspective. We should be allowed to feel comfortable sharing both the bright and dark sides of our lives. The persistent stigma against being open and sharing our true, authentic story needs to come to an end and I have faith in creators like myself to shed light on that through our art. My handmade products aren’t just pretty & shiny-but passionately raw and unapologetic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/kileymceramics/?etsrc=sdt
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kmceramics/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kileymceramics