Discovering Paper Clay
Starting FLORA, my goal has always been to create sustainable products that I enjoyed making. Throughout this whole process I’ve been learning more and more. I’ll admit, I’m not perfect! Running a sustainable business can actually be quite expensive as eco-friendly materials and other necessary supplies cost more than regular materials.
As I continue to learn and research, I love to experiment with my craft in order to better understand what exactly I want to create. For a long time I’ve been wanting to play around with clay. I used to take sculpture and ceramic classes and it’s always on my mind whenever I’m crafting.
This post goes through my process of discovering an eco-friendly, sustainable material to create my earrings with.
Polymer Clay
Polymer clay is extremely popular, but then I had the classic dilemma that I’d be disturbing others who are already successful in this space. And to be honest, I still deal with feelings of Imposter Syndrome. However, after months of inner conflict I decided to lean more into my excitement and began my research into polymer clay!
It wasn’t long though until I discovered the downside of polymer clay. A quick search and I discovered that while polymer clay is non-toxic, baking the clay can often produce unpleasant fumes with the potential to be highly toxic, especially if overheated or burnt. Being a clumsy person, I did not want to risk it since we use the oven quite often for food. Plus, I did not want to harm our cats as they are even more sensitive.
The quick search got me wondering why a non-toxic clay could potentially be hazardous. Polymer clay is not a natural clay. It contains no natural minerals and is actually man made from plastic with a polyvinyl chloride base— the same material used in construction pipes, cable insulation and more. It’s a great material for high strength durability, but the fact that it is made from plastic was a huge turn-off for me.
Researching Clay
I knew any type of clay I used would have to be air-drying as I don’t have access to a kiln and I excluded the oven from being an option for crafts. On top of that, I knew I wanted a clay that was eco-friendly since I’m still creating some resin jewelry. Even the friendliest of resins can produce toxic fumes when mixing.
So back to researching! I discovered Cold Porcelain and Paper Clay to be great eco-friendly, non-toxic options and decided to test them both. Cold Porcelain actually isn’t any type of clay at all. It’s made from cornstarch and glue and working with it just left me frustrated with how tacky it was. It was great to mold and build in my hands, but making cutouts led to a disastrous mess.
Paper Clay
Being a bit disappointed with Cold Porcelain, I hesitated on testing Paper Clay. I read a ton of positive and negative reviews on all sorts of different brands trying to figure out if this whole process would be worth it or if I should just stick to my original designs. Being fed up with my ever indecisive mind, I decided to purchase a small bag of Paper Clay. And I’m so glad I did!
Paper Clay is made of a mixture of regular clay and paper pulp. Typically, the paper used to create the pulp is made from leftover scraps making it a great sustainable clay alternative. Being made from natural materials, Paper Clay is also non-toxic and biodegradable!
While you can technically fire Paper Clay in a kiln, it is more durable when air-drying because the paper fibers stay intact. So after finishing a piece, you just set it aside and wait. No energy needed, no fumes produced.
After drying, the clay can easily be sanded and drilled. Checking those two off my list, I then decided to test the durability with my reject pile. Anything that was too thin or warped snapped with a bit of pressure. But it was actually still quite strong and was fine when dropped on hard flooring.
I’m not the strongest person, but even exerting all my force on pieces that were just thick enough did not break. Of course there’s always a slight chance for damage with the right amount of pressure. Paper Clay is also not waterproof or flexible. But it is durable and if broken, it can safely be disposed of or tossed in some soil.
Here are some great options to choose from:
Final Thoughts
Paper Clay meets all my personal requirements.
It feels great to work with as it is the closest consistency to ceramic clay. Cutouts are smooth, it molds well, and doesn’t dry too fast. I ended up using the whole brick of clay while creating my test pieces. If a cut is too thin, it begins to warp and curve while drying. Too thick and I can’t get a jump ring to connect my pieces properly. A lot of trial and error, but I’m happy with the final pieces!
A part of the proceeds from every FLORA purchase goes towards The Sierra Club Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization that promotes climate solutions, conservation, and more. Other items in the store are also dedicated to helping NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.