patriciathinks

Love > Everything Else

Happy Buttons: Handmade heaven

Eaay Narciso is not your typical entrepreneur. 

While most are driven by income for getting into business, Eaay started her line of handmade accessories named Happy Buttons two years ago (then just a concept) with a vision of a life based on a Bible verse: Proverbs 31. 

Ever since, Eeay has been a Martha Stewart of sorts with her passion and knack for creating anything handmade and personal. “Dati pa naman kasi hilig ko na mag butingting ng mga bagay. [I’ve always been passionate about tinkering with stuff] And not just accessories. I like crafts, paper, everything and anything I can think of,” she muses. “When we were in HS [note: she’s my classmate in St. Scho], I made colored recycled paper. I even had my own hand painted rock paperweight which I still have with me.”

Her own stamp

Whenever she gets stressed with her day job as an Equities Analyst, Eeay would go around the malls and see different accessories available in the market. Although she finds them of good quality, she wants to wear something that represents her own sense of style. Now what started as just an idea to have a hobby then blossomed into a full blown business which was officially launched just a few months ago.

But what sets her line of accessories apart is her choice of material to play with: polymer clay.

Why clay: With clay, I can design my own pattern on the beads; I can shape them in the way I want. I want my “me” touch on what I wear.

The process

The painstaking process of creating every Happy Buttons product will put any mass producer to shame and every lover of anything handmade proud.

Her process starts by first conditioning the clay by hand through pinching or kneading or using materials such as a rolling pin or a pasta machine. According to her, this is the most important step when using clay.

After this process, that’s when the designing part comes in. “Actually, you should have thought of the design already before doing anything with the clay. Based on the design you drew or the pattern you want to make, you form and mold your clay into that,” she says. “Sometimes you need to do the molding yourself, at times there are readily available mold which you can buy from craft shops. I bought some of mine through Labor of Love and some from kitchen and cooking stuff in the department store.”

Finally, once all the design elements (molding, engraving, stamping, etc) have been made, the final step is baking it. Eeay uses one that is dedicated solely to her business as you cannot use ovens for food prep once you’ve used it for clay. 

Afterwards, she then let’s it cool and assembles it for different product lines such as earrings, necklaces, rings and other objects such as magnets and key caps.

Today, Eeay successfully juggles her day job and her business. And just last month, she has passed the first baptism of fire of any retail giant in the making: the Christmas bazaars.

Proverbs 31, in her own words, is about having the abilities of a godly woman who can support herself and stay at home, do business, and tend to the needs of her future family. With Happy Buttons on the rise, Eeay proves that a business idea and that push to become a creative entrepreneur can be found anywhere, even during a stressful time at a Bible study. 

Ain’t that just divine?  

All orders can be made by filling out an order form at Happy Buttons’ official page at www.facebook.com/happybuttonsclayworks and Twitter account at @HappyButtons. 

This is not a sponsored post. Happily made for a friend. :)