Darby Fogt began making polymer clay jewelry as a hobby, alongside her corporate job, to fuel her creativity. She began selling earrings and other jewelry in 2021 at art fairs and online via Etsy. Contented by the balance her side business brings her, Fogt’s main goal is to bring a little joy and color into the lives of her customers and to empower women through her art.
Start with a color
Fogt, a Defiance, Ohio native and current Grand Rapids, Michigan resident, began looking for a hobby that would satisfy her need for creativity in 2020 when she stumbled upon polymer clay earrings. Always a craft-loving person, she quickly fell in love with the process. “I start with a color. I don’t always have a design in mind when I start, but I just love color so I let that be my guide,” Fogt said.
After discovering the love of making the earrings, Fogt’s business Darby Lane Designs Co quickly took off and she now sells her jewelry at various art fairs/markets in the midwest and online via her Etsy store.
Darby Lane Designs Co has a wide variety of styles of earrings from simplistic designs to very intricate hand painted items. The fall and holiday styles are some of Fogt’s most popular and sell well, including dangle skeleton earrings made entirely from polymer clay and gingerbread house earrings for the holiday season. Among some of Fogt’s favorite styles of earrings she’s made over the years are the spooky skeletons, glow in the dark luna moths and dangle Lucky Charms featuring all of the marshmallows.
Empowering women
One of Fogt’s main inspirations in running Darby Lane Designs Co is to empower women. “A lot of people including myself deal with self image issues. And knowing that feeling of putting on a new outfit and feeling good, feeling confident, that’s what I want my earrings to do for people,” Fogt said. For Fogt, watching people light up after buying a pair of earrings and immediately putting them on and smiling is the best part of the job.
She has taken that customer interaction to the next level by naming different styles of earrings after repeat customers and other women she admires. “I think it’s empowering for people to see themselves represented so if someone comes looking for a pair of Stephanie earrings, I have that for them,” Fogt said.
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Another way Fogt represents empowerment in her business is through the cards that the earrings are displayed on. Each card has a woman’s face on it with a different race and ethnicity. “I wanted my cards to be different and diverse and fun. They are eye-catching and I get a lot of compliments on them,” Fogt said. Fogt stands firm in the belief that empowered people empower other people, so contributing to that, in any small way, is important to her.
The art fair scene
Although Fogt’s jewelry is available for purchase on Etsy she gets more traction and more enjoyment out of selling at art fairs and markets. A repeat seller of the Apple Butter Festival in Grand Rapids, Ohio, Fogt also sells at shows in Toledo like Wild About Art at The Toledo Zoo, using the opportunity to visit her parents, who currently reside in Waterville. Additionally, she sells at various fairs and locations in Michigan and Indiana.
The in-person interaction with her customers and repeat fans of her designs is what makes it all worth it. “When I’m at the Apple Butter Festival people come and look for me every year and there’s no bigger compliment than people looking for you year after year,” Fogt said.
instagram.com/darbylanedesignsco.
