Our Friday Feature this week is the wonderful Emily from Millie’s Ceramics. Having turned to pottery for a creative escape whilst working in a stressful office job, Emily was eventually able leave her career in the world of architecture behind and follow her passion full-time.
Let’s get to know more about the creative woman behind the small business…
Being creative is like an expression of my personality, most days when I’m working it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like therapy!
Yes! I loved doing art in school and at home, my bedroom was always full of paintings, pictures and all sorts of various (half-finished) craft projects.
It’s hard to give one thing that’s good about ceramics, the way you can create literally anything out of clay. Ceramics is unpredictable and you never know if the work you’ve spent hours on has survived the kiln. But that feeling when a piece survives the kiln is amazing, opening the kiln is like opening presents on Christmas morning.
I started a weekly pottery class at a local pottery studio back in 2017 to give myself a creative outlet while I was working a stressful office job in architecture. I loved it so much I stayed for years, but I ended up with a house-full of pottery so I started to sell it online to try and get it out of my house! It all just snowballed from there and I was making enough to survive on so I left my stressful job in 2022 to become a full time potter!
Getting exposure is my number one challenge for my small business. Exposure means sales but I’m terrible at promoting myself! The constant developments in social media and algorithms are hard to keep track of and try to stay relevant especially when you’re working hard on everything else business-wise! You have to wear so many different hats as a small business owner!
I do! I am currently working on a cross-stitch of The Great Wave, it’s been about 18 months and I’ve only done a corner so it’s going to take me a while, haha! Finding the time to be creative outside of the studio is difficult, especially during busy times of the year.
Choosing a favourite project is particularly difficult since I only make things that make me happy, but I’d say my ceramic houses are probably my favourite (I’ve only just started to bring them back after a few years of not making them). They are a combination of my architecture background and my creative side!
Don’t be so hard on yourself! Nothing can be perfect first time so don’t stress too much.
My amazing customers. Seeing and hearing about the joy they get from my work is what keeps me going when things seem rough.
To be able to sell worldwide. Last year the GPSR rules came into effect and cut off all of the EU to my Etsy shop. There’s a lot of hoops, red tape and money needed to be able to sell to the EU again. I will eventually work it out, hopefully!
It’s so inspiring to hear of creative women being able to make a living doing what they love! Being self-employed and running your own business isn’t easy… we’re sure many of you will relate to Emily’s view on exposure being one of the hardest things – along with trying to navigate the dreaded algorithms. But, when it all goes well, it’s so rewarding.
To see more of Emily’s creations, head to her Etsy Store: www.etsy.com/shop/MilliesCeramics – or for process videos and behind-the-scenes content, take a look at her Instagram: @millies.ceramics
If you haven’t already found us over on Instagram – why not come say hi and give us a follow. We would love for you to join the conversation and help spread the movement by liking and sharing our content.
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