Sunday Soap Case: Maker of the Month

Makers Gonna Make

It’s Sunday, and time for another edition of Sunday Soap Case. This week is a bit different, though. Let’s call it special. A super special spotlight. Involving Soap & Clay (obvs), news from Freighthouse Station (obvs), and a brand new program we’ve rolled out this month: Maker of the Month!

What is a maker?

The Maker Movement

Some of us crazy people take it a step farther. We don’t want to make a sign; we want to make all the signs. We aren’t content with a batch of basic soap that will keep our family clean for a year; we want to try every soap technique and experiment with every possible oil combination. We aren’t satisfied with the perfectly designed quilt on our guest bed; we want to work with every damn piece of fabric that has ever been wrapped around a bolt. For some of us, making is not a hobby, it’s a full-on obsession.

So we start businesses. We’ve worked our booties off designing and formulating, building an inventory and setting up our shops because we believe that we have something special, unique, and useful that will provide value to others. We promote our business, harass our friends and family to do the same, stay active on our social media pages, spend countless hours continuing to develop our craft and research new and better ways to create our masterpieces. We eat, breathe, and dream our craft. We work hard.

The one thing I don’t see enough of in the maker world, however, is promoting, championing, and helping other makers. We’re so hyper focused on achieving our goals that we race right past another maker trying to achieve theirs. And as the absolute hardest thing to do when building a start-up is reach a larger audience, it’s just silly that we don’t focus more on cross promoting. So when I opened Soap & Clay’s storefront, I never saw it as just a place to showcase all my brightly colored wares. I wanted to be able to provide a space for the talented makers I’ve met along the way (of which I’ve met hundreds; I collect talented people much like other women collect shoes) to display their items, perhaps reaching a larger audience in the process.

Enter Maker of the Month

Sign: Mama’s Chalk Shop
Inventory: Karter Designs

I’ve set aside a space in my shop for this purpose. Each month, a new, talented, and all-around awesome maker will be showcased. My criteria for Maker of the Month are as follows:

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Karter Designs

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Kicking off the Maker of the Month is Katy Haymore of Karter Designs. Katy is a hard working, fast moving, mover and maker mom of two boy-children. Her down to earth personality, love of her family, and smart ass sense of humor really comes through in her products. Which are great, by the way. Karter Designs specializes in painted wood signs and drinkware and has something for every occasion. Need something custom? She’s got you covered. How about something to commemorate your child’s birth story? She’s got that covered, too.

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Happy Sudsing!