I have an inspiring interview post for you today!
I had the chance to make an exclusive interview with Reshma, the hands and mind behind hello LAVENDER, which produces striking clay accessories.
She is an extraordinary polymer clay artist. She is really pushing the envelope about how polymer clay can be used in the artwork.
Here, she shares with us how this came to be, the challenges and joys she experiences, as well as some great advice.
Whether youโre a budding artist, fond of art, or simply curious or interested to know more, check out my questions and Reshmaโs answers below!
1. Could you introduce yourself to all my readers?
So, where to begin? How about we start with my obsession with the color mustard, because, obviously. These days I live on a steady drip of coffee while chasing around my two daughters with the help of my husband, who Iโve been with since high school. Thatโs 16 years for anyone keeping track. I know. Gross. On the maker side of things, my journey with yarn started at the age of ten when my mom taught me how to crochet. While I never thought Iโd wind up here, my dad always told me I should start my own business, which I always laughed off. Sure showed him, right? I now spend every free moment I have frantically making stitch markers for all of the wonderful members of the knitting and crochet community. If you had told me five years ago that I would be making stitch markers out of polymer clay as the main focus of my business, I would have laughed. Just like I did with my dad, and we all know how that turned out.
2. How and where did Hello Lavender begin?
When I launched Hello Lavender in 2016, I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was doing. It was born out of a need to bring in extra money for my family, while still leaving me enough time to spend time with my daughter. From the outset, I knew I wanted to be flexible with the business, even down to the name. Rather than picking a name that tied me to a certain craft, I wanted something a bit more ambiguous that would still fit if the focus of the business ever changed, hence landing on Hello Lavender. Five years later, Iโm glad I had the foresight to make that call. When I first started the business, I was making hand-painted wooden signs that I would sell at craft fairs and have on displays at local businesses. Getting my work into a local coffee shop was a HUGE deal to me at the time. I quickly introduced crocheted items, which eventually evolved into knitwear a year or two later.
3. How did you get to be interested in clay and what spurred you to do it full-time?
Seemingly on a whim, I decided it would be fun to make a few stitch markers out of clay in early 2020. I knocked out a few designs and put them on my site, not knowing if they would get any kind of response. As you might have guessed by now, they did. So I made some more. Those sold too, only faster. The cycle continued, and with every update, I was sure that people were already tired of my designs, and the few people who wanted stitch markers already had them, and sales would inevitably taper off. Except they didnโt, much to my surprise. I then dabbled in earrings with the Lola design, which has become one of my best sellers. So here we are about nine months and a few collaborations later, and I never could have guessed at how this would have panned out. Started at wooden signs and now weโre here. Every now and then I just look at my husband and say โfโin stitch markers!!!โ in disbelief, because, honestly, who knew?
4. Do you manage Hello Lavender alone?
While Iโve always been the sole creative force behind Hello Lavender, my husband Mike has been there with me from the beginning. Back in my days of making hand-painted wooden signs, he would be in the basement with me cutting, sanding, and framing until 1:00 am. He would take on the day to day aspects of the business in his spare time so I could put all of my efforts towards coming up with new designs and expanding the business. Iโm happy to say that as of January 1st of this year, heโs officially joined Hello Lavender full time!
5. Your designs are really gorgeous! How do you come up with all these new ideas without pause?
If only I came up with new ideas without pause! As always, social media only tells half of the story, as there are plenty of failed designs from me that will never see the light of day. That said, I come up with designs in two different ways, disciplined and organic. Disciplined designs are ones that I do for collaborations with other makers since I need to design around a specific color palette or inspiration photo, oftentimes both. These kinds of designs force me to push myself creatively, as I often have to come up with new methods for manipulating the clay to fit a specific design idea. Organic designs, on the other hand, are the ideas that come to me through inspiration and observation. Iโll see a wildflower or an illustration that sparks an idea, and Iโm off to making. Half the time I come up with new ideas while in the middle of a collection and need to drop everything Iโm doing so I can make it and get it out of my head!
6. You have a lot of beautiful earrings and stitch markers available, do you have a favorite?
Iโm going to cheat here and pick one favorite stitch marker and one favorite earring! On the earring side, Iโd have to say that my Lola design is my favorite. It lends itself to so many different color variations that I feel like I could make it forever. As for stitch markersโฆ I lied and Iโm picking two! I would have to say that my two favorite designs are Venezia and Duomo, both from the Italy collection. I love Venezia because I feel like the fluid and organic nature of the design perfectly captures the essence of Venice, especially with the water effect I was able to achieve. Duomo speaks to me on many different levels, as it marries my love of Italy and architecture in a perfect balance.
7. How long does it take for you to produce a new collection?
Honestly, the time varies wildly from collection to collection. It depends on the number of pieces and the complexity of the designs. For instance, I spent nearly a month coming up with the designs for the Italy collection I launched with Explorer Knits and Fibers last summer. My Plant Lovers collection, on the other hand, I knocked out in one day. Granted, the Plant Lovers collection had six pieces as opposed to Italyโs ten, but the design goals for the collections were drastically different.
8. Balancing your day with family and clay-making/entrepreneurship surely isnโt easy. What keeps you going?
Copious amounts of coffee and the thought of a glass of red wine at the end of the day! In all seriousness, itโs the knowledge that Iโve been at this for five years now, and have experienced incredible growth within the last year, and I donโt want that to stop anytime soon. I have so many ideas and goals for the business that it feels like Iโm just getting started.
9. Whatโs in store for the next season?
I have multiple collaborations lined up for this year so far, so keep an eye out for those. I also have a number of collections that I plan on releasing throughout the year, as well as a big shift for the business, which I hope to announce later this year. Weโll see about that, as time has a way of changing things.
10. Last but not least, any advice for aspiring crafters or those looking to journey down a similar path? What do you think they should know?
The short and simple version is this: Being a business owner is incredibly difficult. At the end of the day, the only person who can push your business forward is you. The only person holding your business back is you. You are the business, and that means that you have to show up and put in the work. Thereโs no secret to success, no holy grail algorithm that will make you gain thousands of followers overnight. You have to do the research, stretch yourself, try new things, fall on your ass, get up, and do it all over again. Need to figure out wholesale? Do research. Not sure how to handle taxes or sales in another state? Look it up. Iโm not saying donโt ask for help, but donโt expect others to do the work for you. Everyone can create a website from a template. Everyone can make an IG account and toss up a few posts. The difference between those who make it and those who donโt is the willingness to work hard and figure things out by yourself. Plain and simple.
Itโs been fascinating to find out more about Reshma, how she runs her business, and how she got to where she is today.
So thank you, Reshma, for agreeing to speak to us, and I wish you all the best in your clay pursuits!
Please head on over to Reshmaโs website to check out more of her amazing clay designs! You can also connect with Reshma on Instagram.