About Polymer Clay  -
Confessions of a Polyclay Addict

The Truth about Polymer Clay? It's addictive. You buy a couple of blocks, do that easy technique to make that piece of jewelry or decor. And you think that's it. But NO...there’s always one more effect to try. Soon you’re caught up in a spiral of discovery and creation that can last a lifetime.

I’m Nancy Ulrich and I started PolymerClayer.com because I’m hooked on polymer clay. And I can’t afford not to create this site. Let me explain with a quote and my story.

“The most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”

From The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living

I discovered polymer clay in 2000...

When I walked by the Orange County Polymer Clay Guild’s booth at the Orange county fair. Eye candy color explosion! There was an intricate kaleidoscope by Dotty McMillan , and the cutest elf crafted by Kathy Davis. There was also a very helpful Trina Williams working on a fimo pendant who talked me into attending a first meeting.

I thought that it might be cool to create a site about polymer clay. But obviously I couldn’t because I was a rank beginner.

I was hooked...

A short time later when someone stopped me in a grocery line and asked where I’d gotten the beautiful necklace. It was only my 3rd polymer clay jewelry project. The ego boost almost made my head explode.

Creating website about polymer clay drifted through my mind again. But I again dismissed it.

I knew that I was addicted...

In Fall 2007 when Polymer Café did a story about my 35 pound polymer clay covered storage ottoman. It dwarfed my cats and took Best of Show at the Los Angeles county fair. It had eaten 2 years of my life.

Once again I considered building a site, but business was good. I didn’t have the time to learn how to code HTML.

And then the Great Recession of 2008 hit, so I stopped claying for almost 5 years

‘Playing’ with fimo took a back seat to the struggle to make money. I only took out my tools to create Christmas and birthday gifts because they were cheap to make and always appreciated.

Then I discovered SBI (which recently changed it's name to Solo Build It! — much more appropriate name for online solo business owners). I seriously researched about polymer clay as a site concept. But I just couldn’t figure out how to make it pay. So I created Memory-Foam-Maniac.com (go there now if you're sleepy because you don't like your mattress), my first profitable online business using their extensive site building tools, online business documentation and help from many kind people in their extremely active forums.

But I couldn’t forget my polymer clay obsession...

Every couple of months I’d look for good polyclay related domain names. I was always cutting and clipping polymer clay related articles. I’d write questions in the article margins and in my Evernote online notebooks.

Until it was suddenly obvious that I might die before I felt "secure enough" to do what I wanted

In a very short space of time both my father and mother in law passed away. We sent 3 of our cats to kitty heaven. Then my mother fell a couple of times and we decided to shut down our business, sell our home and move to San Diego to help her.

In late 2012 I discovered that PolymerClayer.com was available. And after I saw the quote this article started with, I suddenly knew that I had to buy and finally develop a website about polymer clay, whether it was ultimately profitable or not. I’ve finally realized that…

Doing this IS crazy, but not as crazy as NOT doing it

I do NOT have all the answers. And I’m certainly not the most talented clayer you'll ever meet. But what I’ve got is more than a decade of questions and observations scribbled in the margins. And I’ve been privileged to meet some amazing artists through guild meetings, classes, retreats and online who can at least give me darn good guesses.

I’m also thinking that my beginner’s mind can be an asset. I appreciate easy to understand instructions. And by working with SiteSell’s research tools I now know what questions and projects might be of most interest to polyclayers.

So Welcome to My Addiction, A Website About Polymer Clay

I’m hoping you’ll be hooked too.

Subscribe to PolymerClayer.com and feed your addiction to all things about polymer clay.

Say HI at nancy{at}polymerclayer.com. And if you're ever visiting San Diego let me know, I'd love to meet you.

Are you addicted to polymer clay too? Would you like to be?