We recently connected with Taylor Boyd and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I had signed up for several dates to sell plants at a free vending event at a local distillery. In January of 2023 I thought that I would make some plant inspired jewelry and art for the sale too. I have been working with polymer clay for about twenty-four years now. I posted some pictures of unfinished polymer clay monstera deliciosa leaves to some plant groups on Facebook. Within a few days I had over one thousand likes on my photos, requests for me to open an Etsy shop, and even some special orders. I had special orders put in for magnets, a necklace charm, earrings, and buttons that could be sewn on all before my Etsy shop was even open. My first vending event was in March of 2023; I opened my Etsy shop WitchTayWoman right after that. My first Etsy listings were all special orders, then I started listing other items for sale.

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.

I was a kid that always enjoyed art class in school and now enjoys crafting as an adult. When I was in elementary school my Mom would sign me up for art classes and different day camps over the summer. One of the classes was a bead making class one year and we used polymer clay to make the beads. My parents bought me a few squares of polymer clay to work with at home. Sometimes I baked the clay to keep my creations, otherwise I worked with the same polymer clay over and over again for many years creating things and then starting over from scratch. I am a full time registered nurse and I wanted to make some extra income doing what I enjoy. What started as a hobby unexpectedly turned into a small business WitchTayWoman, LLC in 2023. I make polymer clay art and jewelry that is witchy, spooky, and plant inspired. My style is boho-witchy-goth as I call it. I also make jewelry with beads and crystals, spell jars, crystal intention jars, driftwood art, and plant and garden decorations. Soon I want to explore resin, embroidery, crocheting, wood burning, etc. A lot of the special orders that I get are from people who have tried to make things with polymer clay themselves and weren’t happy with their own creations so they contacted me to make it for them. I try to give people a lot of options so they are happy with what I create for them. Everything from polymer clay color to jewelry color to earring type to polymer clay finish, etc. I always make sure to buy jewelry that is made of safe materials and include exactly what different jewelries are made out of in my product listing descriptions. When I do custom orders I always send the customers pictures of their item(s) before baking it and before shipping/delivering it to make sure that they are happy with their end product. I do my best to keep my prices fair for the customers and for me. I have created my own free gift to include with purchases, as I have always enjoyed getting free gifts with my own purchases in the past. I am proud of how well put together I have presented my business at vending events from the very beginning. Taking the extra time to prepare my business getting a business license, business cards, my logo stickers, business name banner, etc. was well worth it. I am soon to be in four local shops in Wisconsin. Right now select items are under consignment at Budding Butterfly shop in Sun Prairie, WI and Jangle Natural Living in Mt Horeb, WI. Soon select items will be under consignment at BellaLuna’s Apothecary and Boutique in Algoma, WI and Lucy’s Main Street Mercantile in Reedsburg, WI. I am sure that there will be more in store consignment opportunities to come in the future! My business is listed on the Menomonee Fall Lavender Festival website, and it will be printed on a t-shirt for an event in October, and now I am even being featured in a magazine! Recently my business name was listed in an event e-mail that went out to thousands of people, so that was pretty exciting! All of these things are pretty big deal for me as a small business owner! I really just want people to be happy to be happy in life and hope that my jewelry and art can help with that. Originally my plant jewelry and art idea started because maybe people can’t afford their dream plant or they can’t keep plants alive, but they can wear them or keep them forever in a one of a kind art or jewelry piece. This year of 2023 has been a truly unexpected chapter in my life with opportunities that I never dreamed I would have, and for that I could not be more grateful, thankful, and blessed. I had always thought about creating a small business with my crafts, but I never thought that it was something that would actually happen for me in real life. In 2021 I created my Etsy shop WitchTayWoman and it sat empty for almost two years. Starting in May 2023 I have been traveling to new cities and towns in Wisconsin that I have never been to before, and some that I had never even heard of until now. Getting my small business out there has been really fun so far. I have met some great people while vending that I probably wouldn’t have ever met in my life otherwise. I have always loved supporting small businesses, and now I do even more! I wanted a unique business name that at least somewhat included my name in it. My first name is Taylor and one of my nicknames is “Tay”. People often refer to my clothing style as witchy. I thought of my small business name, WitchTayWoman, LLC, one day when I was listening to the song “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra; I am an old soul. I had never been on Instagram or TikTok until I started my small business believe it or not!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Signing up for events is always a gamble. It’s no one’s fault, sometimes there just isn’t much of a turn out of customers no matter how much we try to advertise. Also your art isn’t always going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and sometimes people just want to pay for your item and don’t consider all the time that it took you to create it. Some events go well and some events don’t. Some days you wonder why you started a small business in the first place. I always try to remember that I am just getting started and getting my business out there. A customer base and followers come with time not immediately. I don’t generally give up on anything easily ever, my Mom has referred to me as resilient more than once throughout my life. I am grateful for every opportunity that I am given in this small business journey I am on. I am thankful for every time someone takes one of my cards, and every sale, like, and follow that I get. These are all wins because someone took the time to notice me! Having a small business is hard work and a lot of it! Even doing an Etsy listing takes a lot more time than one would think or believe it would. I wholeheartedly believe that in time I will have a lot to show for all of my hard work when the time is right.

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

Right now my personal goal driving my creative journey is to get my life back into order financially due to unexpected circumstances that have changed my life significantly in the last four years. I got married in October of 2022. My husband and I are hoping to buy a home by spring of 2024. The last few years I have been working anywhere from two to five jobs at a time trying to get my life back on track. My mission driving my creative journey is to have my business be a safe space for everyone. My intention is to not leave anyone out, and to have my products be available to and appeal to anyone and everyone. All of my jewelry is listed for men and women since right now those are the only options Etsy provides, as I know that everyone does not identify with these two options. At the beginning of June 2023 I created a Pride Month collection. I have always been a big supporter of the LGBTQ community (which has now transformed to LGTBQIA2S+) as I have a family member that fits into this community; though I was a supporter before I ever even knew. I know what it is like to be left out in a different way, but it is still not something that I wish upon anyone and want my small business, WitchTayWoman, LLC, to reflect that.

Contact Info:

• Website: WitchTayWoman.Etsy.com
• Instagram: @witchtaywoman
• Facebook: Page and Group: Witchtaywoman Art
• Twitter: @WitchTayWoman
• Youtube: @witchtaywomanart
• Other: Pinterest: @witchtaywoman, Tumblr: witchtaywoman, Clapper: @TaylorB.WitchTayWomanArt