Sunday Soap Case: Maker of the Month

Makers Gonna Make

whipped sugar soap minisIt’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?

Chances are, you’re a maker. If you’ve ever made a cake for a kidlet’s birthday instead of ordering from the grocery store, you’re a maker. Spent countless hours designing, measuring, and sewing a Halloween costume instead of heading down to the costume shop? Maker. Painted a sign, reupholstered a chair, refinished a dresser: maker. The maker spirit is alive in most all of us; the excitement and sense of accomplishment that comes from making something out of nothing is a better high than any drug in existence.

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

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:

-a kickass personality 
-a unique and fresh perspective within their craft 
-superior products, stellar customer service, and reasonable prices 
-a focus on growing their business, a passion for their craft, and boatloads of positivity
So really, the makers showcased aren’t just any makers – they are extraordinary human beings with extraordinary talents!
maker of the month

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Karter Designs

maker of the month at soap & clay freighthouse

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.

karter designs

Image courtesy of Karter Designs.

Karter Designs can be found on Instagram and Facebook, as well as at her website. Go give her a like!
Seriously on the like thing, though. Normally I showcase a product in my line each Sunday and offer a coupon code for my faithful readers that manage to make it through to the end. I’m still doing a coupon code this week, but it’s not going to be for a specific item from my shop.
Coupon code LOVEMESOMEKD gets you $10 off your order this week, but here’s what you need to do to use the code.
Go to one (or all!) of Karter Designs’ pages. Like or follow (or both!). If you’re in the market for/fall in love with something, buy it! Interact with Karter Designs in some way and then come back here to get $10 off of your order. If you found your way to Soap Case today through Karter Designs, do the same for me. I appreciate likes too!
How will I know if you’ve done this? I won’t. This is the honor system, people – we’re all awesome grown-ups that care about our fellow human and find joy in helping others succeed. I trust you and stuff. That’s it from me this week – catch you on the…soapy side…?

Happy Sudsing!

2 Comments

  1. Katy on September 4, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    Omg you’re so sweet, I seriously teared up!! Thanks so much for having me, I am so honored!

    • Mrs Soap & Clay on September 4, 2016 at 6:32 pm

      Aww, let’s not get teary together. Let’s be awesome instead. Thanks for being my maker!!

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