Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kylee Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kylee, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I started by watching a few Youtube videos then I started practicing in my small apartment kitchen. One thing that really helped me was taking a professional class and I wish I would have done it sooner. I failed, A LOT. I made a lot of earrings that broke and now I know the science behind “why” my earrings weren’t the greatest quality. Looking back, I really made some awful earrings, but at the time I thought they were the coolest things ever. I wish I would have bought an oven thermometer, better quality polymer clay, and a Dremel in the beginning. The biggest thing that stood in the way of learning more was being a new mom and a full-time nurse. If I would have had more time I think I could have progressed in my styles and quality faster. However, being a mother is my #1 job, so it is ok!
Kylee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started my small earring business in 2019. I was a full-time Labor and Delivery Nurse and a new mother to a little girl. I was struggling to find an outlet for the creative ideas that were brewing in my mind. I am a lover of bold, fun, and bright earrings, and creating my own earrings was something that I always wanted to do. Being a nurse, earrings are the only way to make our “uniforms” unique and fun so that really sparked my motivation. I chose polymer clay because I can mix up fun custom colors to create basically anything I envision. Polymer clay earrings are also very lightweight which is a huge plus. This business has been challenging. Making jewelry out of polymer clay is an art and takes so much education, patience, and grace. Over the years I have had to make adjustments to the types of clay I use, baking time, and baking temperature. I have had to learn how to market my earrings in the most creative and cost-effective way It has been a journey and I am so thankful for this business that I have created. I am very proud of my creations and it is so cool to see where my earrings have ended up. I am still making all of my earrings in my kitchen and most of the time my children are watching and that is so special to me! So much attention to detail, sacrifice and patience goes into each earring that I make.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being able to witness my own personal growth has been one of the most rewarding things since starting my small business. The patience and perseverance I gained have been nothing short of amazing. I love having a vision for a pair of earrings, drawing it, thinking of what colors I have to mix, and then bringing them to life. However, sometimes they do not come out how I planned, and learning how to overcome this has been pivotal.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
A few months into making clay earrings and selling them I was invited to donate my earrings for goody bags for a Galentine’s event for about 35 women. I was ecstatic. I finally felt like my earrings were high quality and beautiful. I was so proud of myself and couldn’t wait for these women to wear the earrings I spent so many hours on. About a week after the event I got messages from multiple guests that were at the event stating that their earrings broke either before they wore them or while they were wearing them. I was crushed. I felt defeated, embarrassed, and angry. I threw away all the clay I had and told my husband I never wanted to make earrings again. A week went by and I saw an ad to take a polymer clay class and decided to take it. I am so glad I did. I learned so much and realized I was doing so many things wrong. I went out and bought new clay and practiced day after day until I make the pieces exactly how they should be. I am so happy I didn’t let that situation deter me from what I love.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.poppyandgray.net
- Instagram: @poppyandgrayy