Meet Phylisha Hummer | Clay Earring Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phylisha Hummer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phylisha, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In 2019, a small clay business opened up in my town and I wanted to support them, and so I bought a few pairs. I was mind-blown by how confident and pretty I felt with something so small. It was a pair of stud earrings that were black and white striped, and something so small made me feel so beautiful. I knew right away that I wanted to make other people feel that way too. Shortly after, I decided that I wanted to try making them too. So my husband and I went to the local craft store and bought a few blocks of clay. Of course, I came home right away and tried making them, and boy, were they ugly! But when I showed my mother, she said they were beautiful, and she still has a pair of them today.

I’d like to say that my skills have become much better than they were in the beginning. Now that it’s been over two years since I started Simply Clay, I get messages on the regular from women that I’ve never met from all around the country saying that my creations make them feel beautiful. And every time I get one of those messages, my heart fills with joy!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think my style is represented by my business name, Simply Clay. I like making simple, every day pieces, that can be worn day or night. But don’t get me wrong, I can make some pieces that have some pizazz!

One of my favorite things to do is make custom pieces. To have someone describe to me what they want, and then being able to make it come to life, is a very fulfilling experience. I’ve done a few bridal party orders and those have been so much fun. It’s a pretty awesome feeling knowing that my art is a part of somebody’s big day.

You would be surprised at how much competition there is in the clay world. But every artist is very different in many different ways. Sure, you may see some pieces that may look similar, but every artist has their own technique and style, which makes all pieces uniquely beautiful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My friend Becka actually visited me a couple weeks ago from North Carolina, and we had a great time. She is from Modesto, but moved to the east coast about six years ago. So she is relatively familiar with Modesto, but we always try to make her visits exciting. For this visit, we wanted to try all the recommended burger places. We called it, our “burger day”. We wanted to compare and figure out who has the best burger in town. Man, I was tired of burgers by the end of it. We started with In-N-Out, then we went to Shooters in Manteca (a couple towns over), and ended with Burger IM. And after much discussion, we concluded that Shooters had the best burger.

Now if that doesn’t sound like an exciting day, I don’t know what does!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The person who has been my biggest supporter since day one has been my husband, Daniel. Running a small business is not easy by any means, but having him standing right beside me helping me get through all the rough days and encouraging me has been the best support I could ever ask for. He is Mr. Simply Clay. He actually gets recognized more than I do out in public. It’s pretty funny!

Website: https://simplyclayyy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simply_clayyy/

Image Credits
Sara Erwin Photography