MEET YOUR HOST:
Hi I'm Melissa, your summit host from Strong Girl Clay Co, and I am excited to create beautiful clay earrings along with you. Learning a new skill or growing your business can be overwhelming. I'm here to help you with that journey.
I’ve been creating and selling clay earrings for over four years I have relied on the kind makers who have gone before me. They taught me the skills that eventually led me to be confident in my clay earring journey. And now I want to help you with your clay earring making journey.
Let's get together and make some beautiful clay earrings together!
Melissa Power
Owner of Strong Girl Clay Co.
MEET YOUR SPEAKERS:
Day 1: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024
Christine Marsden
Getting Through the Learning Curve: Polymer Clay for Beginners(ish) 10:00 AM CDT
During my first year of law school, I started Lily and Sparrow Clay as a way to de-stress from school, but making clay jewelry quickly became a little more than a hobby, and I realized it was a great way to bridge my passion for people and creativity. For that reason, I donate a percentage of all purchases to the International Justice Mission to help fight human trafficking around the world. My shop name comes from Matthew 6:25-34, a passage that describes God's care for His creation and provides reassurance during times of worry. I like to describe my earring-making style as “dopamine decor for your ears.” Now, I’m about to graduate law school, I’ve been making polymer clay jewelry for 2+ years, and I’ve expanded to markets and wholesale, and I love that there’s always something new to learn in this community!
Owner of Lily and Sparrow Clay
Madeline Allen
Owner of Meadow + Mae
Faux Ceramic Technique 11:00 AM CDT
Madeline Allen is the owner and artist behind Meadow & Mae, where she makes fun and funky polymer clay earrings from her home studio in Rochester, Minnesota. In addition to her own website, her work can be found at many local fairs and markets and in retail stores across the country. When she's not creating, she enjoys reading any book she can get her hands on, taking naps, and snuggling with her cat.
Join her live Q+A inside the event Facebook group on Wednesday, April 24th at 6:00pm CDT.
Lindsey Carl
Introduction to Silkscreens 12:00 PM CDT
My name is Lindsey and I am the owner of ElleseeWomen, a polymer clay jewelry business located in Chicago. I have been working with clay for about 4 years now and love the endless possibilities this medium has. I love to incorporate different mediums with my clay to ensure my pieces are beautifully unique.
Owner of ElleseeWomen
Day 2: Wednesday, April 24th, 2024
Madison Schulze
Creating a Translucent Slab 10:00 AM CDT
Hello! My name is Madison and I am the Mama of two younger girls, and as they are getting older I have found myself exploring time for me. In that I have found my love crafting and making beautiful items for myself and others. Finding Me Clay Co. My favorite techniques are marbled and agate slabs and I love color mixing
Owner of Finding Me Clay Co.
Liat Weiss
How to Interpret and Create Color Recipes 11:00 AM CDT
Liat Weiss is the polymer clay artist and owner behind DewDrop inc. Her focus is on education and empowering creatives to craft beautiful polymer clay earrings through her notable DIY clay earring kits and digital guides. She is also the author of "Making Polymer Clay Earrings".
Owner of Dew Drop Inc.
Sarah Marcinek
Tips and Tricks to Sculpting Beautiful Florals with Polymer Clay 12:00 PM CDT
Sarah is a self-taught artist with a lifelong passion for creating beauty in the world through art. Throughout her life, she has expressed her creativity through numerous different art mediums, but has maintained an affinity for sculpting with clay. The process of taking a shapeless form and creating something beautiful has captivated her since she first picked it up as a child.
Discovering a hobby that combined two of her favorite things, art and jewelry, she rapidly grew a personal collection of her handmade wearable art. Soon, her jewelry box could take no more, so she made the decision to launch a small business, Queen Bee Clay Co, so she could continue her obsession and create beautiful art for others to wear. She started her small business with one goal in mind; to make anyone who wears her designs feel like a queen.
Owner of Queen Bee Clay Co.
Rachel Ford
Bow Tutorial 12:00 PM CDT
My name's Rachel and I'm the owner of Hey Harlow Studio. I started this business in January of 2020 out of a sheer need for a creative outlet during my gap year between schooling. It turned into something I never could have imagined, and 4 years later, I’m still enjoying every second of getting to create high quality pieces of art with my hands. My clean, fun earring styles have become a staple within my business, and I’m excited to share the technique of one of my best sellers with you!
Owner of Hey Harlow Studio
Jess Ahlborn
Owner of Ditti
Linear Layers Effect Tutorial 1:00 PM CDT
As an 80's kid growing up in the Midwest, Jess earned the nickname, "Jessica the Mess-ica". While her parents attribute this to a perpetually messy room, Jess prefers to see it as a reflection of her boundless curiosity. Since childhood, she's embarked on a lifelong quest to create; exploring new mediums, leaving a trail of projects in her wake and most importantly, finding joy in the process. For Jess, polymer clay isn't just a hobby, it's an essential part of her being. It grounds her, allows for escape and ignites a spark with each new challenge. She hopes to inspire as she's been inspired by countless others. So, grab your supplies and get ready to make a mess with Jess.
Join her live Q+A inside the event Facebook group on Thursday, April 25th at 12:00pm CDT.
Dylan Jahraus
How to do Esty SEO 2:00 PM CDT
Dylan Jahraus is a multi-six figure Etsy seller, yes, but also a military spouse and a mom of two small boys. Creating a multi-six figure Etsy shop was life changing for her and set her family up to build the generational wealth of their dreams by their early thirties.
In 2022, she launched The Ultimate Etsy Course, gaining fervor even pre-launch. Swiftly, the program achieved milestones, enrolling 1500+ students within a year. Anchored in authentic e-commerce strategies Dylan honed in her time at Zappos and Zulily, this program delivers tangible results. Organic traction, driven by student achievements across ages and locations, fostered a vibrant community of 68,000+ YouTube subscribers and a top Etsy podcast, "Etsy Success with Dylan Jahraus," with 150,000+ downloads.
CEO and Founder of The Ultimate Etsy Course
Day 3: Thursday, April 25th, 2024
Scarlet Venolia
Embedding Earring Posts in Clay Earrings 10:00 AM CDT
Meet Scarlet, the innovative mind behind The Clay Impress and the creator of the patent-pending Earring Embedder Tool. With a passion for clay artistry ignited in late 2019, Scarlet has dedicated herself to exploring the endless possibilities of this versatile medium.
As an experienced clay artist and educator, Scarlet offers comprehensive tutorials on various claying techniques, sharing insights gained from years of hands-on experience. Her expertise extends to the intricate process of embedding earring posts in clay earrings, where she unveils the secrets behind achieving flawless results.
Join Scarlet at The Clay Earring Maker Summit as she guides you through the different methods of embedding earring posts and demonstrates the effectiveness of The Clay Impress' innovative tool. Get ready to elevate your clay crafting skills and unlock new dimensions of creativity under Scarlet's expert guidance.
Owner of The Clay Impress
Emily Rochotte
Social Media Manager and Content Writer
Using TikTok to Promote Your Clay Earring Business 11:00 AM CDT
Emily is a social media manager and content writer who has spent the last 10 years helping small businesses build and implement their brand awareness and content strategies. She works with creative entrepreneurs to build their social media presence from the ground up and increase website traffic with search engine optimized content. She is passionate about cheering on small business owners and knows sometimes it just takes a second set of eyes to remind you that you're creating something truly incredible.
Lara Mathewson
The Watercolor Technique 12:00 PM CDT
Lara has been selling handmade clay earrings on Etsy since 2022, and is currently making tools for other clay makers to use and enjoy. When she's not playing with polymer clay, she's homeschooling her three kids and playing with her energetic puppy. She's passionate about supporting other artists and regularly shares free clay color recipes on her Instagram page. Before starting her polymer clay business, she taught classical music lessons for 15 years.
Owner of Hazelwood Clay Co.
Lucy Breimeier
Tortoiseshell Tutorial 1:00 PM CDT
Hi, I’m Lucy Breimeier, owner of Stella & Sage! Transitioning to full time work after college made it more challenging to whip out my oil paints (oil painting has been a creative outlet for me for most of my life). Once I started making clay earrings in late 2023 as a new hobby, I couldn’t stop (Literally could not. My husband can attest…). This new hobby quickly transformed into my first small business venture - mostly as a means of offloading my massive amount of new inventory (oops!).
I love learning new techniques and tips from others as they relate to this extremely versatile medium, and hope to help anyone I can with things I’ve learned along the way!
Owner of Stella & Sage
Lucy Štruncová
Using Stencils on Polymer Clay Tutorial 1:00 PM CDT
Polymer Week has been publishing high-quality publications, developing and creating products, gathering the polymer clay community together during live events every year, and helping creative people around the world to master polymer clay art.
The founder, Lucy Štruncová, started her journey years ago when creating the Lucy Clay company with her family, designing and making machines and tools for polymer clay. Although things have changed and Lucy is behind Polymer Week now, her dedication to this material and the people involved is everlasting.
Founder + Owner of Polymer Week
Sheree McCready
Level Up Your Design by illustrating with POSCA Paint Pens 2:00 PM CDT
Australian based Polymer Clay and Resin Maker Sheree is known for her bright and bold designs, her colourful aesthetic is complimented by her graphic use of illustrating. Sheree also shares her love of creating through fun and informative content for her YouTube and Patreon Subscribers. If you're wondering why she has a odd accent that's because she is actually from Aotearoa (New Zealand) not Australia! She resides in Melbourne with her husband and 2 daughters and their cheeky cat Banjo
Polymer Clay & Resin Creative Educator, Owner of Polly Collective