Store Rants

Polymer Clay… an epic retrospective journey…

It’s 1993… I’m enjoying a good bottle of strawberry kiwi Snapple and listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Pearl Jam… possibly wearing a flannel… you probably were, too.

I’m fiddling with Fimo, a polymer clay that you can mold and bake. At the time, it was being made into little plain shapes or you could mold several colors together to make “canes”. I tried both. (Please note, all the following images are NOT things I made… all of my creations are looong gone)

The first thing I made… cliche little red and white polka dot mushroom necklaces. My friends think it’s pretty neat. So, I buy a book on the world of Fimo to dive in deeper.
	Two blocks of color turn into several dozen… had to have every color.
Normally with Fimo, you take individual blocks of color and put them together to make large “canes” of one design that you slice. One cane could take you hours and hours to WEEKS of work to make. You then had that one design to work with until you ran out of that cane. So, you would make as many canes as you could and have a library of images to “slice” from.
	You can make simple mosaic pattern canes…

Or get into some really ornate canes… like this dragon here…

So, I’m deeply obsessed with Fimo at this point in 1993-1995. I’m making Fimo canes and slicing them and sticking slices of said canes onto anything that doesn’t move. Frames, light switch plate covers and other assorted home decor things. Mushrooms, stars, moon faces… lots of celestial beings and sunflowers. A local shop sells my things on consignment… I did pretty well with it.

Then, all of a sudden, Fimo beads start emerging covered in psychedelic patterns and icons. It went hand-in-hand with macrame hemp jewelry. It was showing up all over Lalapalooza, head shops and frankly, it was everywhere besides the cute boutiques I sold my items at. So, at that time, Fimo lost it’s fizzle for me.

After my kneading fingers couldn’t knead any longer (I never did get the pasta maker to flatten and roll out the stuff for me) and I was a bit turned off by the new Fimo movement, I started working with Fimo’s softer, lazier cousin, Sculpey. Sculpey became my friend. I started making little sculptures, ornaments, book covers, figures, jewelry and other little things. Sculpey was great because I would roll it out, add shapes, bake it, sand it, then paint and seal it. I used soft pastel colors and I had the flexibility to change designs and add things you just couldn’t do with Fimo. I made tons of rosettes and three dimensional things. It was pretty great!

Sculpey came in a larger box. It was plain white and oh-so-soft compared to Fimo.

Of course the art of Fimo canes reached China and you can find cheaper designs all over the place. In finished beads, pre-made canes that you slice yourself. Apparently (I’ve been out of the loop so long), they even sell canes of different designs for use on acrylic nails. There’s even Chanel Fimo slices available. How about that.

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I think my favorite Fimo use has been miniatures. Mini food things for jewelry, doll houses, etc. The work here is really impressive!

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I’m not a fan of “serious” grown-up Fimo jewelry. I like the whimsical stuff. But this bracelet and necklace set… is impressive:

Admittedly, I’m completely intimidated by all of the above Fimo work. You have to have some amazing skill, tiny tools, great hands and GREAT vision to accomplish that stuff. But it may be a fun challenge to tackle? Upon further investigation however, the mini food pieces sell for under $10.00, jewelry pieces sell up to $50.00 but… not much over that. That’s a LOT of work for $10.00.

And Sculpey… I found a few fun things made of the stuff (the rest was mostly dragon sculptures):

I haven’t picked up polymer clay in years… until recently. I was asked to participate in an art show and I decided to use Sculpey. It was food-themed, whimsical and a little silly. I did a few sculptures and some jewelry in the theme of the Art Show. It was received well, although only a few pieces sold (and they didn’t sell for very much). There’s this optimistic voice deep down inside me that says… “do mixed-media art sculptures! One-of-a-kind folk art pieces!” But alas… not sure if that’s the direction I want to go in?

So, as far as bringing polymer clay back into my business plan… hmmm. Buy it in bulk and sculpt all day long? I don’t think so. The time spent vs. the money made using the stuff doesn’t seem to pay off. I’ve seen a lot of work done with it that is phenomenal, but… are there buyers for such a thing? I’m not going to put it away completely, but I don’t want to spend 8 hours a day with it either. Perhaps… as a hobby?

Fimo… I love you, but I’m not in love with you.

p.s… cool polymer clay review & idea blog: Craft Gossip

I’ve worked in the retail gift and home decor industry most of my life. I have many years under my belt as a buyer and merchandiser and have a passion for creating beautiful displays. I have also sold my handcrafted “it” for many many years. I followed trends, whims and whatever seemed fun at the time. Jewelry, bath products, furniture, paper products and so much in-between… I could never focus on one thing. The “it” evolved and changed as I did.

With my brick and mortar closed, the economy helping to slam those doors, I took some time to wallow in self-defeat and wonder what went wrong. I have opinions, but I can’t be sure.

We are flooded with things that are made in China and although the prices are excellent, we’re not getting a lot of unique things anymore. What you see at Target is also at Walmart, Home Goods, Big Lots, Macy’s and it’s also in those sweet little retail boutiques that are becoming an endangered species. The lines of “exclusive”, “unique”, “limited edition” and “designer” have been blurred, mass marketed, ripped off and licensed out to death. China can reproduce something in the blink of an eye for a fraction of the cost.

Before I opened my store, I sold in a little portable ten foot by ten foot booth at street fairs… outdoors, under the sun. Dirt, children with sticky fingers… kettle corn and Peruvian flute music abound. I felt like a modern day gypsy. I made the majority of everything under that EZ-up. There was a lot of pride in that, and a whole lot of work, too.

After a year of tortured bliss owning my very own store, I realized… hey… I could BUY more things and sell them for a profit! Handmade is great, but… how am I going to fill this space, all by myself? So… that’s when I got 1000 square feet of “Made in China” merchandise. Most of my customers didn’t seem to notice… or care… why should I? My deep respect for handmade was sort of… squashed. Why pay ten times as much for something that looks almost identical… but it’s made in China? Made by me or made in the USA didn’t matter anymore. At the time, to me, a full store was a happy store. I no longer had to struggle to keep up with my inventory demands or care where it came from. End of story.

All eco-landfill-social-global-economy-buy-american rants aside… why wouldn’t you want to save money? Why wouldn’t you want to have the newer and shinier… and get in some much-needed retail therapy time? As a store owner… why wouldn’t I want to showcase the new gotta-have-its and make my customers happy? It made sense. Everyone was pleased (yet, a wee bit ignorant).

So… now that we’ve maxed out our credit cards and filled our storage bins with SO much stuff… how could we ever go back? Have less things? How do we start respecting the handmade again? Smaller quantities… keep for a lifetime, not a season… supporting our local friends. There is a culture and a movement going on but… I was queen of consumer whore-ism… how do I change my ways? How do I convince my customers to change their ways? How do I not look like a total hippie? I’d like to buy handmade as well as BE that handmade vendor that people want to buy from because I’d rather not be a hypocrite, thank you very much.

So, I’d like to be a better/different consumer. I’d also like to be a better/different supplier/vendor. But I have NO idea where to start. I guess I’ll start with what I sell. I’m liquidating everything I didn’t make myself on ebay and I’m going to start fresh. A new look, a new philosophy. Ugh. I’m completely overwhelmed.

With that all said, I’m on a quest to find a new handmade medium to pursue. Over the course of my life I’ve worked with so many different types of arts, crafts and materials, but I feel like I have not mastered any one thing. So, I’m going to re-visit my crafting history… one medium at a time… and investigate its trends, popularity, appeal, longevity, profit potential and basically educate myself (and you!) and/or convince myself if this is the direction I’d like to go in. I will investigate a new medium every week. Here I go!

My shop had a heart and was a living breathing entity to me. It came to life the second we got the logo on the window. I could feel the energy it created every single day. I would whisper things to her when nobody was listening… and she would giggle back at me. I was thankful for every day I could be there, and for every time she would let me change things… she would let me know if I was doing the right thing. I could just feel it*. I don’t think anyone else quite felt the life and presence of this space like I felt it. It was almost like having a child. I’m sure that other store owners have experienced this… that’s why you see many businesses that have been around for decades and generations. I breathed life into a box… and she gave back to me like nothing else I have ever experienced.

Those who are naturally sensitive shared this experience when they came in that door. They would come in and silently wander around for hours, taking in every bit of it. Some would actually start crying. I didn’t have to ask… we just knew. The store and I were connected, and this connected me to so many other people. A silent and powerful bond that I miss so much.

A friend of mine who worked part-time at the store also understood the power of the store. She is currently looking for a location to start her own business. I don’t think she understands just how much is involved with running a store, but I wish her a lot of luck and I’m so excited to see the finished product. What kind of sweet soul will her four walls produce? What feelings will whoosh over me when I come in the door? Every little family business I’ve entered gives me a sense of a personality… an energy. Some more positive than others. But it is there.

Today it hit me… I defended, nurtured and was so proud of my store. And now it’s gone. The responsibility, headaches and liability are gone, too. But I never felt so alive, connected and aware of the pulse of my soul as I did when I was struggling to keep my business alive, healthy and thriving. I think the key word for me is connected. Connected to myself, to others… and awake and alive.

Sure, I had those who ran in and out in a hurried blur… many wanted to change the positive flow of the store by adding their negative soundtracks and petty drama. But so many “got it”. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for those who understood it. It was so much more than pretty little things with price tags…

Perhaps this comes from the female “id”. (Hormonal?) Or it comes from the fact that I’ve always been hyper-sensitive and can feel emotions to my core. I’m not sure. If any of you out there have had similar experiences, I’d love to know.

*I had a nosy neighbor who used to drive me nuts. We shared a wall on one side. If I was late and UPS had to deliver packages to her, she would actually put her clients on hold to scold me. She had a very specific and annoying way of looking at the clock, holding the phone to her shoulder and shaking her finger at me. Ahhh… I can picture it now. On her lunch break, she would loiter in my space and ask me questions about my life and business that I wouldn’t even share with my own husband. So, one day she came over as I was putting up wallpaper. “You were making so much noise, I thought you were going to come through the wall! Why do you change things around here so much anyway? How do you decide what to do? It seems like such a waste of time!” I told her that the store told me what it wanted and I did it. Really, I would think about it long and hard for a few weeks and it would just come to me, but I thought saying the store told me what to do was sweet. She took that as me being totally schizophrenic. Her body language changed, she looked upset, told me that just sounded nuts and she promptly left. I got less scoldings after that. I don’t know why that affected her so much, but at least I got some privacy for a while