Maker Spotlight – Get To Know The Face Behind The Brand.
Meet Heather from FemmeLoft. Heather lives in New York City, NY. FemmeLoft specializes in polymer clay earrings and they are often mixed with chains or beads. Heather happily accepts custom orders and you can find her Etsy store located in her IG bio.
Here are some words from Heather :
-How long have you been making?-
“Forever. I consider it my first language 😉 I’m a licensed creative arts therapist in NYC by day, and a maker every minute I’m not on that clock! This shop, FemmeLoft, is 3 years old.”
-What other hobbies do you have?-
“You mean besides the love of my life, makers markets? I’m an all around expressive person, I sing, play guitar, piano, and drums. Instagram reels make me feel like I’m dabbling in the Hollywood I was once too shy to pursue. A girl can dream, right?! I like to snuggle up with hubby and binge everything from true crime docs to weird Z grade movies, to every Oscar nom we can find.”
-Do you have favorite things to do while creating?-
“I like to put on shows that I can still follow while listening and only glancing up once in a while, or that I can come back to easily after I fall into a deep creative trance. I also don’t mind repeating shows over and over again because I’m obviously only partially paying attention. During the not holiday season, I’ve enjoyed bingeing everything from Queer Eye, to Schitts Creek, to a show on Vice called Dark Side of the 90’s. During Halloween, I’ll let the scary movies roll in the background, and during the holidays, Christmas movies abound!”
-What inspires you?-
“Literally everything. But if I had to name a few, boldness, unique creative energy, and justice for all marginalized groups. I send a % of each sale to a different social justice organization every month. That way, my shoppers and I are doing something truly positively radical to effect change.”
-What made you want to start creating?-
“I always felt most comfortable in life while creating things. I started my first ETSY shop doing custom pet portraits in 2015, but got tired of that process and wanted to try a whole new medium, I just wasn’t quite sure what yet. In 2018, I was experimenting with making my own version of quirky shadow boxes and found that some little dollhouse elements I wanted to include weren’t available anywhere, so I figured I’d make them out of polymer clay. Before I knew it, I was making miniature desserts, which turned into miniature dessert earrings, and eventually, the bold goddess statement pieces you see before you today.”
-Would you like to share any family info? Pets?-
“I’m happily married to Erik, who is listed as my other staff member on Etsy! He sometimes comes up with cool earring concepts, drives me back and forth to markets, and just generally is so ridiculously supportive of my small side biz, which one day hopefully will become more than that. We are excited to one day get an English Bulldog, who will obviously also be part of our biz team.”
-What is your MOST FAVORITE item you have created?-
“I’m LOVING my all glown up earrings from late 2021-2022, but I probably felt most connected to my 2020 ETSY best seller badge ornament, which was a pink circle shape with holly going around the edge, with a little blue surgical mask and “WTF 2020” text in gold. I think the whole world is connected to it. I literally had to ship out hundreds, each completely handmade. As an essential worker through the entire pandemic this far, it was my way of turning some sh*t to gold and sharing it with anyone and everyone.”
-What makes your shop unique? What is your specialty?-
“I think my willingness to jump into new styles and trends, not relying solely on cutters, but really diving into actual skill work like hand-molded flowers and shapes sets me apart from some other styles. I occasionally use humor in my clay work (see feminist magnets, Christmas ornaments) and almost always in my insta posts and reels. Fun fact: I was voted class clown senior year of high school. Underneath the funny stuff, I do care a lot about authentic self expression and serious issues, and that’s why I’m committed to donating a percentage of my proceeds to social justice.”
-What is the story behind your business name?-
“A place for women to feel empowered and expressive!”
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