Pot Pals were a total accident, though they weren’t a planned craft, they started of love and adoration for my two kids. My husband worked a lot, with long hours that kept him away from us for lengths of time, it became a routine only to see him when he was sleeping. With his effort and time put into creating a safe environment where we didn’t worry about being taken care of, I spent my free time as a stay-at-home mom teaching them things like how to make scrambled eggs, or baking cookies with them, but our favorite activity was arts and crafts.

I was a big art nerd in school, so being able to share what I loved with the people I love was a lot of fun for me. My kids loved it, and sometimes art got messy. Pot Pals were a playdough creation originally, and when I made something that resembled a worm but could have also been called a snake, I chased the kids around the house with it and shared so many laughs and giggles. I took a bit of time after to explain and share some of our local snake species with them, showing them which ones were good, and which ones could potentially hurt them. Growing up on a farm, I had many encounters with snakes of all kinds, and maybe one or two close calls with A Copperhead or a Rattler when they were seeking a cool place to hang out under the cow's water troughs. Passing that knowledge and those stories down to my kids made me realize how much I missed those random encounters, and seeing the world from such young innocent eyes and how things have changed since becoming an adult.

I’m a true believer there is no such thing as a “bad” snake, simply disrespected ones. They can’t tell us that they’re scared or irritated with words, and it’s important as a human to take a look at body language, if you can’t do that, just simply don’t interact with them at all. It’s safer for both parties that way.

So, I perched this little pink playdough noodle thing on the edge of one of my many plant pots. By the end of the day, the little guy had been forgotten about, and it was the next morning that I had found it again. All dried up and cracked but still holding so many laughs and smiles and memories. It almost broke my heart to toss it out.

So I snapped a quick picture and shared it on a Facebook page that was all about plants. To my surprise, the post gained far more attention than I had ever planned, and before long, my phone was going crazy, and I had people asking where they could purchase something like this.

I had never gone to the store faster, as I was thinking about something that could be moldable like playdough, but durable, waterproof, and non-toxic. I wanted to be sure anything I was sending to another home to bring smiles was safe for everyone, children and pets alike.

I found Polymer Clay, a small $10 kit that had a variety of fun colors, and I got to work. Now 4 years later here I am, sharing what I love most with so many kind and inspirational people all over the world!

Chaos. That’s the simple answer. My brain is so full of ideas that I physically cannot keep up. I have so many directions I want to go, and so many plans to branch out into. My husband is my rock, and I find myself bouncing these ideas off him and he’s always supportive, even though he isn’t quite into the reptiles like I am.

I have a list that I made at the end of 2023, that I had planned to do in 2024. Here is it April, and I have only completed 1 item off the very long list of things.

At the end of the day, I find myself inspired by the people who support me. By the people who message me with pictures of their pets, and share joy and happiness with me.

I’m inspired by the people who come to me with their grief, their sadness over the loss of a beloved pet, asking if I can do memorial pieces.

I’m inspired by those who come to me to find a piece of work that commemorates a milestone in their lives, like a wedding cake topper.

All of this comes together in my mind, and I find myself asking “What’s next? What else could I create that will bring a smile to someone's face?”

At the end of the day, you never know if this little clay snake could make someone smile, or feel a little bit of peace in a world that could be trying to tear them down. It only takes a moment of kindness to turn someone's day around. 

I offer roughly 62 different color options for my Classic Pot Pals. I think I have a color for literally everyone. From mattes to glitter-filled, to deep red and blacks to Princess pinks and pearls. My color combos come from my browsing color pallets online. Those pretty photos of sunsets with little circles of each color coordinate with it. Even custom-requested colors sometimes have a chance of becoming a permanent option in my shop.

I think we can reference question number one for this as well. My classics are where I started. They’re my bread and butter, per se. Every little snake I make reminds me of that very first time when my babies had smiles on their faces and the house was full of their tiny, gleeful giggles.

I just hope they do the same for those who take them into their homes as well.

Besides snakes, I offer Vampire Bats, Octopi, and Dragons!

The Vampire Bats were requested by a large number of people, specifically around Halloween time, but making them made my goth little heart so happy.

Octopi started as a Kraken inspiration and quickly morphed into something that was so painstakingly time-consuming but the results were amazing. People loved them, so the limited edition I started with turned into something that is a permanent fixture in my shop.

Dragons are my favorite. I’m a book lover, and I dropped these bad boys right at the same time as the book Fourth Wing took off and became a big hit. I have several that I’ve kept for myself, but seeing them in others' homes is simply incredible.

I made a woman's Poodles for her once, they were so much fun! Then she came back and requested an Orca, which was a challenge in itself. I was still very new to the sculpting world and made so many mistakes I grew frustrated. I don’t think anyone likes to fail, but failing is how we learn. I pushed on though, and she ended up loving them all. I’ve done a double snake cake topper for someone's wedding cake, a Dragon that resembled more of a sea serpent, I did Shenron from Dragon Ball Z. I have so many that I could go on forever.

Paint-It-Yourself snakes are basic white or black snakes that I sculpt for you, they’re a blank canvas and are ready for painting as soon as you receive them! These guys offer so many fun options for reptile lovers to share with friends, family, kids, etc. They’re a branch of my love, to share with your kids and create some memories they’ll never forget. One day I hope they can bring up those memories at a family gathering, “Hey, you remember that time we painted those snakes together?” How neat would that be?

Absolutely. It would be the Gaboon Viper. I made a massive one for my plants. The Gaboon Viper is called what is it because it’s found in the country of Gabon, Western Africa. They’re massive, heavy-bodied snakes, and I’m a sucker for how chunky they are. The fangs are the longest of any venomous snake, at 2 inches long. A large, healthy Gaboon can weigh 25 pounds. That’s a big danger noodle!

I can’t say why they’re my favorite because there are a lot of reasons and I don’t feel like most are personal. I just love their colors, their camouflage is incredible, and despite how dangerous they are, they’re chill snakes.

These snakes are so unique. At first, I used to just toss them out when I would find one that had broken during the curing process or even one that maybe ended up a little burnt. To me, originally, they didn’t hold any value. It wasn’t until my daughter, who is nine, wanted to keep a few of the ones I would toss out. I told her she could pick one of the good ones from my office, but she refused. She wanted this broken white snake whose head tilted off to the side and he had a stumpy tail. She said just because he had been through a rough time, didn’t mean he wasn’t just as pretty as all the others.

That resonated with me because before I met my husband, I felt a lot like that little white snake I had just tossed out so thoughtlessly. Yet my husband saw the beauty in me, he saw the value in me, and he took his time and devotion and patience (so much patience) to make me feel like I still offered something beautiful to this world, and so came the Perfectly Imperfect snakes.

We all have scars, cracks, and wounds that are being held together with bandaids far too small. We keep pushing through. Somewhere out there, there's someone who looks at you and doesn’t see the scars and the flaws, they see the beauty you have to offer, and they embrace it, even though you’ve had a rough time. Because you are valuable, you are worth it, and you deserve it.

1. In any way possible. This business was never about money or how many products I could sell. I started this business because I saw how happy these tiny snakes could make people. I make sure my Classic Pals stay at an affordable price, so that everyone, no matter your financial situation, can bring a little snake of happiness into their homes and their lives. Each one hand sculpted by only myself, with every ounce of love I can put into them.
   
   I am blessed that it has turned into what it has, and I am grateful for everyone who supported me and cheered me on when I became serious about this.
   
   My favorite thing is when I receive pictures of these people's children holding their little snakes, or an octopus, or a Christmas Ornament made after their snake, with a huge smile on their faces. Happiness is what means the most to me. It’s where I started, and It’s where I hope to end.