Small Business of the Month - Cotton and Clay UK

Small Business of the Month - Cotton and Clay UK

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy this new column. I definitely am. This month, I had a massive pleasure talking to Laura of Cotton & Clay UK, the maker of unique clay cross-stitch accessories, homewares, and gifts.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Laura a few times before, and she is not only kind and fun, but also incredibly talented. I love her scissor fobs. My collection includes 15 different styles plus a few exclusive ones she created for events and retreats. I also belong to her needle minder of the month club and I love my monthly carefully packed parcels delivered to my home. 

Laura's Etsy store, Cotton and Clay UK, offers a variety of needle minders and scissor fobs perfect for your cross-stitch projects. Explore her stitchy adventures on YouTube Butterfly Stitches/Cotton and Clay UK  and Instagram 

Join us on a journey as we discover the finest businesses in the cross-stitch world and beyond.

 

How did you first start?

L: "I’ve always been a serial crafter - constantly moving from one shiny new craft to another.  I first saw people making polymer clay earrings on Instagram and became quite obsessed.  I bought some clay and tools and had a go at making my own.  I already had my cross stitch account and I shared some photos of my earrings on there.  A couple of people commented that they would make good needle minders.  My mind exploded with ideas at that moment and I got to work - a month later I opened my Etsy shop". 

Tell me more about your business. What inspired you to start your own brand?

L: "I’d been cross-stitching for a few years before I started my business and had made some lovely friends in the community.  I loved needle minders and had quite a collection.  I also loved buying handmade items from Etsy.  When I began designing items for my own shop, I wanted every item to be handmade and one of a kind.  
I hope my brand represents the importance of our hobbies and how investing time, energy and money into the things that make us happy is an important part of mental wellbeing - especially for busy women who may be otherwise overwhelmed by parenting, work or caring responsibilities.  Our hobbies often take a back seat and I’d love to help change that".


How did you choose your business name?

L: "This took forever!  Easily the trickiest part of the whole process.  I knew I wanted “clay” involved somewhere as it was my key medium.  My original plan was to also sell rustic, embroidered items (and I would still like to someday) so that’s where the “cotton” came from.  I like where it landed in the end though - as cotton can also represents the fibre arts angle of my business". 

 

What’s the secret to your creative process and what do you enjoy most about it?

L: "Long showers ha ha!  Sounds so weird but honestly my best ideas come to me in the shower.  Also, in bed and when I’m commuting to my day job.  Basically, I think any time you allow your mind to go quiet, bored even, your best ideas come to you.  I also find inspiration from other artists working in different mediums, from the changing seasons and nature, and often from cross stitch patterns themselves.  Every time I see a new pattern I think “could I make a minder or floss ring to complement that?”  
What I enjoy most is putting aside a whole day to play with the clay and try different ideas out, they are my favourite days.  It can be frustrating too because more than half of those ideas will end up in the bin but it’s so exciting when you create something that works and that you can’t wait to share with people". 

Needle minder - the Mod-style Retro

How would you describe your style?

L: "I have so many styles of designs in my shop now it’s hard for me to pin down any one thing.  But in my heart I love bright, bold colours and satisfying marbling and patterns.  I’ve also had lots of fun in more recent years working on cute animal designs and more vintage styles.  
The design style I like in both my home and in fashion always falls into one of two categories - bold & bright or vintage-inspired.  Most of my cross stitch accessory designs also fall into those two categories". 



What’s your favourite make and why? What are you most proud of?

L"I hate to pick favourites but the items I feel most connected to personally are the fox because I love the metallic orange clay, the Love Heart range because I put so much thought and research into them and the Mod-style retro rounds because I love making them and using that technique (and I secretly wish I grew up in the sixties!).  
I also love certain designs because of what inspired them.  For example all the duck items came about when a group of us decided to start the “Quackalong” stitchalong at the Big Stitch retreat, so the duckies have a special place in my heart".

Fox Needle Minder     /        Fox Scissor Fob and Floss Drops

 

  What do you hope people get from your art?

L: "Just a little bit of joy.  I’ve had a couple of folks say to me in the past “I was having a rubbish day but when I got home to a parcel from you it cheered me up.” This is everything to me.  Our hobbies and the pretty things they inspire us to make or buy should be all about bringing tiny moments of joy to your everyday life".

Duck Needle Minder

 What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

L: "To accept that there is no rhyme or reason when it comes to having a small business.  Designs that I thought would sell really well haven’t, and ones I didn’t think much of have become bestsellers (like my little ghost needle minder!).  You cannot predict what people will like and you cannot predict how many sales you’ll make in any given month.  As a control freak, these facts have been hard to swallow for me but I’m getting there".

 What fun things can we expect from you in the future?

L: "Lots more cute, clay designs coming this year but I’m also looking to expand into different mediums.  I’ve had an idea for a needle minder storage box in my mind for years now so I’d like to see that come to fruition.  And I’m also working on some bargello designs - would love to create needle minders actually made from yarn so watch this space for those".

If you'd like to join Laura's needle minder of the month club for a promotional price, be sure to visit her shop. Sign up here 

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1 comment

What a lovely blog post. Laura’s minders and scissor fobs are always gorgeous.

Kim

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