By Samantha Lobo
Design In Clay is truly a passion project grown from a life-long love of making things with my hands. Like many others during the pandemic, I was stuck inside with lots of time on my hands, so what better time to pull out all my old arts and craft supplies? I started with my old love of painting watercolours, but soon something new caught my eye, CLAY.
Seeing all the beautiful and endless possibilities of polymer clay made my jaw drop. A few bars of clay and a handful of cutters later, I was obsessed! I was suddenly hit with a memory that I used to make jewelry in high school! It’s crazy how easily we forget the things that make us happy in the hustle and bustle of adulthood. Once I started making jewelry again, it all came back to me and I felt so happy. It was like I just found a cherished toy I lost many years ago.
Through this journey, I’ve learned a few things that really helped me, and wanted to share them in the hopes that it may help someone else too;
If there is something you love or are even curious about trying, please go for it, just try it! If you hate it, at least you tried and if you love it, all the better!
Do what makes you happy, even if you don’t think you’re very good or might not make any money, that's not the point, that's not why you’re doing it. You’re doing it because it brings you joy, happiness, peace or just an emotional outlet! The rest is like an extra piece of cake.
Do not compare yourself to other people’s achievements and feel discouraged you’re not as far along. Remember that they are called ‘highlights’ for a reason! What you see is not their every day, trust me, they faced the same challenges even though you don’t see it online. Their life and journey is different. Stop comparing your every day to their highlights and don’t let the fear of failure rob your attempt at happiness.
Progress over perfection! I procrastinate a lot, but something that has helped me is telling myself, just do one small thing for 10 minutes. Once I start, I end up doing way more than 10 minutes. You just need to get started! Even if it’s not perfect, you did something, you did more than doing nothing and that is worth celebrating.
Live within your means and maintain an overall life balance. I work a 9-5 job during the day and realized that I just work slower than some, but that’s totally fine! I work slow because I’m also trying to ensure my life is balanced with work, family, exercise, cooking and eating healthy and also spending time making my jewelry. You won’t be disciplined from day one, but you will get better. Do what you love, but never forget to take care of yourself! Also, don’t overspend if you can’t afford something, you don’t need anything fancy to be creative!
Finally, I’m incredibly lucky to have supportive friends, family, and a partner who keep me confident the whole way, even when I lose confidence in myself. If you have people cheering you on, listen to them, they believe in you, so believe in yourself!