We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Hentges recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I am not a life-long professional artist and never went to formal art school. In fact, I don’t recall even taking an art class in high school. I loved drawing, painting and making art as a kid, but sadly that dissipated over time as I grew up. In college, I was on the full-speed-ahead path into a career of nursing with my blinders on to distractions along the way. I worked in the field for 18 years and spent the last 14 years practicing as a geriatric nurse practitioner. I provided primary care to my patients living in long term care facilities. I lost many of my patients to COVID as it began to devastate the people in those settings in 2020. I was working part time to begin with, so by the end of 2020, I sadly had very few patients remaining. Of course, I found myself spending the growing amount of free time making pottery. Ultimately it became one of those “choose your own adventure” type moments. I could either build my nursing practice back up, or I could pursue this passion I had with clay and see what happens. I thought about it for many months and realized my passion for making art was relentless. I rationalized that I can always go back to work as a nurse practitioner, but this was a time to try something that brings me so much joy. I couldn’t deny myself that opportunity. So I put my nursing career aside and am forging a new path as a working artist.

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

My adventure with clay started with a local community-ed pottery class that I took along with a couple of good friends. We jokingly referred to it as one of our “mom camps.” Mom camps came about when we were coordinating our kids’ summer schedules, signing them up for camps and realized there were all sorts of things for the grown-ups to do too! We had such a fun time in the course that we began going to the subsequent open studio sessions that were offered and eventually just decided to all get our own pottery wheels to play with at home.

I set up my wheel in our basement utility room and found myself escaping down there to throw pots and play around with clay every chance I could. As many potters’ stories go, eventually I made so many pots for myself and gifts for all my family and friends that I needed to find other places for my creations to land. A few friends invited me to participate in their businesses’ holiday markets and a local gift shop owner found my work through social media, and asked to carry my mugs in her shop. I just kept making pots because it kept bringing me joy. As the volume of my work increased, I ultimately outgrew my utility room work space. In 2021, my husband and I renovated the pole barn on our property, and out there we created a pottery studio that would better fit with my developing art work and business aspirations.

My work is predominantly functional pottery, meaning mugs, bowls, plates, planters etc. The majority of it is wheel-thrown, however I do enjoy the freedom that hand-building allows from time to time as well. The bread and butter of the business has always been my wheel thrown mugs. They are typically adorned with unique surface decoration or text that specifically speaks to their buyers. I think this is what makes them a best seller; if someone is going to pay the higher price of a handmade mug, they generally appreciate the elevated quality and feel in their hand, but I think they often enjoy something about it that really resonates with them personally too. I always create messaging or themes that mean something to me personally to start, so when someone sees a piece that resonates with them, we instantly have a little bond. I always enjoy hearing what my work means to people and how it fits into their lives. I especially love when someone shares a photo of their pottery in use.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My business is named Hygge Handmade Designs. I chose that because name specifically because it is aligned with my goal to make pottery intended to create moments of slower coziness and connection. Hygge (pronounced: Hoo-gah) is a Danish word describing the feeling of coziness and contentment evoked by simple comforts. What is a more simple comfort than coffee with a friend?

I am also inspired to use my work to create the world I want to live in. You’ll notice my mugs often have inclusive messaging that I hope makes people feel seen and appreciated for who they authentically are. There’s plenty of Minnesota and hockey themes, because we Minnesotans are not only proud of it, but we love to show it in any way we can.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Oh yes! There are a number of excellent pottery related podcasts out there that I enjoy listening to while I work. Specifically, I have found “The Potter’s Cast” hosted by Paul Blais very helpful. He interviews potters about their work and I have learned a lot about building and growing my business from what other’s have shared about their experiences.

Also, I absolutely adore Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Big Magic.” I go back to it over and over again. I’ve listened to the audiobook a number of times now. (Bonus: it’s narrated by the author). Elizabeth helped me to see that now that I’ve found clay, I would always long to make art with it. Her writing empowered me to just go ahead, take the leap, and pursue this creative lifestyle.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/hyggehandmadedesigns
• Instagram: @hyggehandmadedesigns