Introducing Clay Collection Company! If you’ve been around for awhile, you know I opened as Blossom Art Avenue in 2018. What I never told you, is that I named the business after the street we lived on at the time. It perfectly fit what I anticipated my business to be when I opened it. It’s funny looking back at it now, but I originally wanted to be a home décor brand. I wanted to share design inspiration, home interior tips, and I wanted to create art and signs that you could display in your home. So having a street named business felt like the absolute most perfect fit.
I jumped out of bed to ship my very first order- October 26th 2018
What I quickly learned, is that I am not trendy enough when it comes to home decor. I still love decorating my home and I could spend hours browsing home decor ideas on Pinterest. But I really don’t have a passion re-styling my home every week and there are people out there who can give you much better tips than I could.
I really found love in the “Blossom” part of the name. I loved painting flowers from the beginning and I really leaned into that. I started with paintings and quickly started making floral stickers. I also had a HUGE passion for cacti (seriously, my office was filled with cactus art and every time anyone saw a cactus item at a store, they would buy it for me) so I began creating cacti designs.
Eventually, I bought some more house plants that weren’t cacti (my first was a marble queen pothos) and that new passion spiraled out of control. I found myself filling every corner with plants, stopping at greenhouses anytime I passed one, and even found myself working at a greenhouse for a brief period of time. That passion bled into my business. I was making house plant stickers more than anything, and you all loved it too. For two years now, my products have (mostly) been house-plant themed.
Reflecting on the life of Blossom Art Avenue, I felt I was in a position where my business was not aligned with the vision of how it started. And that’s where I began thinking of rebranding.
Rebranding and completely changing your business name is SCARY, especially when this is now my full-time job and I have become established in my area and my products are sold in stores around the country. But the way I see it, it’s only going to get scarier, so I might as well take the leap now.
Clay Collection Co. really encompasses where my business started, how it operates currently, and where it’s going. It’s still a really personal name to me, as Clay is my last name. To me, the new name shows that my business is a collection of everything I (Annie Clay) have created and will continue to create.
Ending the brand name with “Company” was a very conscious decision to recognize that I don’t run this business alone. I would not be where I am without my husbands support, last minute supply runs, and book-keeping. I would not be able to have successful holiday seasons without my mom, who I get to see every week as we put together orders and who basically lives with us during holidays because we’re spending so much of our time on the business. My site, Instagram, business cards, inserts, and graphics would not be as perfect-for-me without the help of my INCREDIBLY talented friend (and graphic designer) Shaun. I would not have the Facebook following I do without my in-laws sharing every one of my posts with their friends and coming to every event I put on. I couldn’t do in-person events without my trusted friend, Chrissy who I can always count on to set up, break down, and ring out. And of course, I am lucky to have so many friends and family that I can’t even begin to name, that have supported me since day 1, and without them I don’t think I’d have the ability to be doing this full time. So many people in my life have made this business what it is today, and I would not be here without my company.
It also very much fits what my business as grown into. This business has become trendy plant-themed accessories over the years. This newest release of hand-painted clay pots was really just the perfect combination of my love of art, plants, home decor, and design. I felt with the last name of Clay, I had the perfect opportunity to create clay pots and use my last name as a pun for the product or business name.
If you’re curious- not much is really going to change around here. There may be new fonts, colors and names, but it’s going to be what it’s been from the start- a collection of my creations. Right now, that looks like a lot of house-plant items but let’s be honest- It’s been that way for awhile. In the future, I know creating will always be super important to me, even if my other passions change. I know this business will grow as I do into things I can’t even imagine right now. But it will always be at the core what it always was- Clay Collection Company.
Thank you for being so supportive and encouraging through this change. It’s scary but I truly feel more aligned with my brand than I ever have before. If you have any questions in relation to this change or my products, I’m an open book, please reach out and ask me! The name Blossom Art Avenue will forever live on Etsy and I will continue to update that shop page with items that don’t have super limited stock availability. If you’re following along because you love handwriting signs- don’t worry, those aren’t going away. You will still be able to order them on Etsy as that platform is so perfect to use with it’s messaging capabilities. If you’re nostalgic or have a hard time with change (like me) you may get comfort out of seeing Blossom Art Avenue on some packing material or business cards while I work through that inventory. Being as sustainable as I know how is still very important to me and a core value of my business so I will not be wasting material just because it has my original business name on it.
I’m so excited to start this new chapter and I’m very thankful to have you here for it.
