Rising Stars: Meet Michelle C. Burmeister

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle C. Burmeister.

Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi I’m Michelle C. Burmeister. I am a licensed Interior Designer by day working for Meyers and Associates Architecture, by night I operate a conceptual clay accessories business for all ages walks of life called Earthy Abstractions. My obsession with textiles and accessories stems from my exposure to the ongoing trends and technology that are constantly evolving within products that I deal with on a daily basis. I have the luxury of seeing all kinds of new trends in textiles, ceramics, and the furniture world, and that exposure directly translates to my accessories business.

Earthy Abstractions (EA) is conceptual clay jewelry and accessories company that compliments and expresses each individual’s sole composition while encouraging originality, confidence, and conversations with the world about one’s external abstractions. It’s interesting, the items that we choose to wear every day are pieces of artwork that showcase and represent who we are. Throughout our day we have these interactions with others and it creates these moments to break the ice with strangers or create social connections with those that we know in potentially a deeper conversation all because of a pair of earrings, a necklace, or any other accessory. That is what my products are about. Each piece of jewelry is crafted off the concept of visual language – that not only ourselves, but also by the jewelry that we choose, everything is composed of our own unique form, shape, lines, and color that expresses our personal identity.

Earthy Abstractions was a positive result of the pandemic – I was overstressed, not being my usual creative self, and overall not having the exposure and connection to others like I did for an extended amount of time. In addition, needing a challenge to revamp my prior marketing education I thought it was time to re-evaluate how to incorporate a creative hobby, release stress and build on my education in both marketing and business methods. Within a few months of development EA launched in June of 2020 online and in December it was being sold in the local vintage co-op shop The Little Light Collective.

As we continue to expand we are excited to see where we can go, within a short period we’ve already reached over 30 states and in just a year and a half. The most rewarding project of 2021 was slowly branching into doing custom designs for bridal parties. Our goal is to participate in more craft shows in 2022 and connect with other creators within the Columbus Community, as I’ve found being around other vendors during shows is the biggest highlight as we lean on one another in our community.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first biggest challenge has been launching a business that is in a saturated market. Creating a business and defining our mission and purpose, and eventually creating products that reflect our values helps us to stand out in the crowd.

The second biggest challenge is trying to not compare your success to someone else who is more established. Reminding yourself that things take time, consistency, and patience; not putting yourself down and keep pushing forward.

The third biggest challenge was learning SEO and algorithms from shopping platforms to social media. This was something that took a while to learn and is still hard to continue to keep up with but also very helpful in creating an online presence.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Earthy Abstractions is a single employee, woman owned business in Columbus, OH that specializes in Polymer Clay jewelry and accessories. Each individual pair of earrings, necklace or accessory has a unique color and style and is hand made and hand assembled. Most of the products feature clay that is mixed by hand using primary colors, black, and white. Each is conditioned, styled/shaped is cut by hand, baked, sanded, and sealed. Occasionally, I incorporate locally sourced pressed flowers, resin, paint, and brass accessories. Each piece has been thought out, created, photographed, uploaded, cleaned, and shipped by one person – which is me. Clay is resilient, it is flexible and strong, a representative of how I’d like to present myself. Clay is also a unique element that has imperfections and not each piece is the same it represents my audience – beautifully imperfect.

I provide pieces for all ages and I provide opportunities for customization for something the client is imagining for a special occasion or everyday wear – these methods provide opportunities to collaborate with my products to fulfill a need for clients to create jewelry that expresses their personal identity. Which is my mission.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is being able to do something that you love. This means you’ve found flow in the way you are able to achieve the tasks that go into what you’re doing, you feel confident in what you do, you see positivity in the future of that venture, you have the ability to do as much or as little as you’d like, you can be scared or uncertain sometimes but you’ll figure it out, and in the end, you hold yourself back or push yourself forward by how much success you seek.

Contact Info:

• Email: earthyabstractions@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/earthyabstractions
• Instagram: @earthyabstractions

Image Credits
Anna McDonough Photography
Emily Antonelli Photography