Life & Work with Molly Kearns of Lakewood, OH

Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Kearns

Hi Molly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I opened my business in the summer of 2024. Although Happy Flower Ceramics is still new to this world, my love for clay began over twenty-years ago in my hometown of Salem, Oregon. My parents regularly took my brother and I to a kid-friendly clay studio in our community, where we were given large blocks of clay and little to no restrictions besides the limits of our imaginations. We only lived there for a few years before my dad’s job took us to another state, but the joy surrounding my experiences at our small clay studio stayed with me until I decided to take my first adult ceramics class in 2022 at Bayarts.

Over the years I’ve fallen in love with many different art mediums, but nothing has captured my heart and interest as quickly and immensely as ceramics. I find the act of using my hands and a kiln to turn mud into stone and glaze into glass equally as fascinating as it is rewarding. The first piece of pottery I made that I truly loved was a pink bowl adorned with unglazed clay flowers, an ode to my business name, and it’s a design that I still sell on my website today. Now, two years later, I’ve built a brand and a business that I can use to share my original designs with the world.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The main struggles I’ve faced while building my business have been confidence related. As someone with a background in social media and brand development, I had exciting dreams of starting my own pottery brand for months before I finally decided to start the process of creating Happy Flower Ceramics. The main thing holding me back was a lack of knowledge surrounding entrepreneurship. Starting a business by yourself can be a very daunting and intimidating task. I knew that I loved making pottery and I wanted to share my designs with the world, but I also had doubts around my own capability to understand the back-end logistics of owning a business. Thoughts like “What if I start my business and I can’t keep up with the bookkeeping or production demand and everyone sees that I fail?” raced through my mind in the months leading up to the launch of my website. I had to start feeding my thoughts with positivity and faith. Once I did, everything I needed to figure out for my business fell perfectly into place.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I really enjoy designing and producing ceramics that embody girlhood and femininity. My first two collections, launched on August 1, revolved about floral and love focused designs. Throughout my pottery journey, I’ve developed a passion for hand building vessels and adorning them with hand sculpted attachments. I want someone to look at my pottery and immediately think “that is SO cute” when it first comes into view. I love creating decor and dinnerware that is as functional as it is beautiful. A bowl doesn’t have to have the singular role of holding your food. It can perform that function, while also looking captivating, putting a smile on your face, and increasing your levels of dopamine, all at the same time. That is my goal when producing each piece of pottery and what inspired my business slogan – decor designed to delight.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
When I’m not making pottery, I’m working my day job at NASA as a technical writer and digital media specialist supporting the Space Communications and Navigation program. I first began working for NASA as an intern while pursing my education at the University of Alabama. After I graduated with a master’s degree in digital and social media marketing back in 2019, I was hired full-time to continue the work I started as an intern, and I have been supporting the same program ever since!
As a technical writer for NASA, the bulk of my day is typically spent exercising the analytical side of my brain. Discovering a passion for ceramics has provided a wonderful opportunity to flex my creative muscles as well.

Pricing:

• Most of the pieces on my website range from $35-$75. If you would like to place a custom order for a one-of-a-kind creation, you can send an email with details on your idea to hello@happyflowerceramics.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://happyflowerceramics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happy.flower.ceramics/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy.flower.ceramics