Today we’d like to introduce you to Joyce Graves-Blackstone.
Hi Joyce, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Plantdemic Terrazzo officially began in 2020, during the pandemic lock-down in the Texas hill country. Now based out of San Antonio, and what started with only planters, Plantdemic Terrazzo offers a little bit of everything for your home. From slow-made eco-friendly pots & vessels to stained glass and jewelry. Whatever I’m creating, or a new hobby I’m trying out, it is constantly changing and evolving. I love combining mediums, like making terrazzo frames for my stained-glass pieces.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m assuming a lot of makers out there might feel the constant need or pressure to come up with new products. The pressure to always create something original or things that haven’t been seen in social media sometimes gets in the way of enjoying my creativity. Social media is wonderful for exposure but it’s easy to feel some poser syndrome creeping in when I see others making similar items!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make planters and home products out of a material similar to jesmonite or concrete. When I set out to make planters in the very beginning, I could only find jesmonite and it was a small fortune to order it from Singapore. After a bit of research, trial and error, I discovered a product that has a lot of similarities of jesmonite but made in the USA. This meant better cost and even better for the environment because it wasn’t being shipped to me from overseas. It’s also eco-friendly. In a world of creatives and makers who use the same molds bought mainly from the same companies, it’s so important for me to make a lot of my own molds. I created my own horseshoe molds from real horseshoes. Even the bluebonnets I set in resin for the molds were hand-picked from my own property. So much handmade love goes into my floral horseshoes!
How do you define success?
I see success in my business in two ways. On one hand, it feels like a business where the bottom line is profit over everything else. And if I’m making more money than what I’m putting into it, it is defined as successful. But on the other hand, I didn’t start Plantdemic Terrazzo to necessarily make money. It was created to keep my sanity while being home with my kids and needing something in my day-to-day that was 100 percent creative and for myself. There are so many items that I’ve made that I genuinely enjoyed the peaceful time of making it, some things that I thought would be a big hit too, that are still just sitting on a shelf in my home. I still see those items to be successful!
Contact Info:
- Email: PlantdemicTerrazzo@gmail.com
- Website: www.PlantdemicTerrazzo.com
- Instagram: Plantdemic_terrazzo
