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

Lexi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’ve been a lifelong crafter for as long as I can remember. Always picking up new crafts and art mediums to test them out, everything from ceramics to painting to fibers art and jewelry making. For me, crafting is a freedom of expression because the point isn’t to make something traditionally “good” but it’s about the fun in the process of getting there. Back in 2022 as I was scrolling instagram I saw somebody post a story of a beaded tissue box in their living room and it was truly the most magnificent thing I had ever seen. I decided right then and there that I needed to make one myself and thus began my deep obsession with beading. I devoured youtube tutorials instructing me on what materials I needed and step-by-step instructions on how to get started. It’s an art that takes a lot of patience, with some pieces taking 10-12 hours to finish, doing the same repetitive movement of weaving and stringing beads into place. After a few failed attempts, a lot of trial and error, an embarrassing amount of trips to the craft store, and maybe a few tears (I’ll never tell), I had completed my first beaded project; a multicolored confetti beaded tissue box. It remains to this day a staple piece on my living room coffee table.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Lexi and I currently live in Portland, Maine where I work a slew of jobs and side hustles including front desk at a yoga studio, part time at a flower shop, and part time running my own business To Ducky Crafts. To Ducky grew from an obsession with beading (right angle weave beading to be exact) and has been a creative outlet for me for the last year. I completed my first beading project in 2022 (a tissue box) and after that first project, I was hooked. I started beading every single night — churning out purses, tissue boxes, and trinket and jewelry boxes. It’s a challenge for myself to remember that perfection isn’t the goal. Creating for the sake of creating and producing tiny pieces of joy is why I do what I do.

To Ducky is a love letter to childhood. To whimsy, to uninhibited creativity, to playing, to color! My brother nicknamed me Ducky as a kid because I was always small like the character Ducky in The Land Before Time and it’s really stuck with me. I wanted this creative endeavor to be for her because no matter how old I get, she’s always there with me.

I was terrified to put my work out there, even to a small audience. There’s nothing more nerve wracking than to present something that you’re really proud of to a stranger with the possibility that they might truly hate it. It took over a year to work up the courage to set up a table at a public art walk in town. Since then, I’ve been able to set up my table all over the state of Maine and sell my work at a local artists collective downtown. To be able to share some spark of joy with my community has been so special, but it’s also helped my confidence in ways I never could have imagined. What I’ve found to be the most rewarding is talking to kids that stop by booth and talk about art with them. I try to channel that enthusiasm in everything that I make.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think what I’m unlearning is the idea that everyone has it all figured out. It can sometimes feel like I’m still a little kid (even though I’m nearing 30) watching everyone handle things seamlessly, like they’ve always had the answers but I missed that chapter in life. But the more I’ve grown and asked questions, the more I realize that everyone is sort of blundering through trying to figure it out. There’s a sense of camaraderie in not having the right answer but figuring it out together.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I grew up as the straight A, perfect attendance, class president type of kid. Destined for greatness after college. The problem with that stereotype though is that it seems like the root cause of that perfection is an underlying anxiety to be perfect all the time. And when that idea of perfection isn’t reached, you feel like a failure. And then the anxiety get got worse. And it’s an endless cycle of feeling like a failure but not sure what direction you should go. After I graduated college it seemed like everyone was ready for their career path and I wasn’t. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do or what a career would even look like for me! I spent a few years just feeling disappointed in myself, like I had failed all of those people who were proud of me in high school. But rather than forcing myself into a career that I hated, I slowed down. I took time for myself, I lived modestly, and I prioritized creating art that made me feel good and brought me joy. My journey is far from over but the biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that success is subjective. For me, breaking out of that cycle of reaching “perfection” was what I needed to be happy. I’ve learned that I can’t put myself in a box because life will take me to a million different places and instead of worrying about the next stop, I’ve decided to enjoy the ride.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toduckycrafts/

Image Credits

All photos included were taken by my husband Zach St. Clair