Meet Diane Phillips

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diane Phillips.

Diane, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I never considered myself an artist even though my brother is one and my grandfather and uncle were architects. I always enjoyed playing around with different mediums, but never felt like I had found my niche. After college, I aspired to work in Japan in the field of international business and marketing. I worked 10 years in the industry, but never felt like that was my true calling.

In 2001, I found the DECO Clay Craft Academy in Honolulu, Hawaii. I was allowed to telecommute a couple of times a month for work and decided on the weekends when I was there, I would take classes. My instructor, Yukiko Miyai, daughter of the creator, Kazuko Miyai, really made me fall in love with the clay art form. I felt challenged but could see that with practice, I could be successful in this art form.

I saw the business potential right away between making finished products to sell and also the opportunity to teach others how to make clay art. Over the course of a year and a half, I was able to take all the classes needed to become a DECO Certified Instructor. I was the first mainland US instructor and began teaching in San Jose, California, part-time on nights and weekends while still working my full-time marketing job.

In 2005, after getting married, I left my job to focus on being a wife and first-time mom, and continue my DECO business on the side. In 2008, I was asked to be on the Martha Stewart Show. I taught Martha on live television how to make hydrangeas out of air-dry clay. It was such an amazing opportunity and one that I was not fully prepared for. The amount of exposure and interest that came from being on the show was mind-blowing.

I became super busy between managing being a mom and an entrepreneur. I feel very fortunate for all the opportunities that presented themselves over the last 21 years. I was featured in several publications in the wedding, floral design, and craft world.

I took a break in 2010 from teaching and focused on being a mom, but still doing finished products. I was so busy, averaging 5-10 wedding orders a month between wedding stationery and clay flowers. In 2015, after my father passed away, I met with Yukiko Miyai before heading back to the mainland, and she offered me the opportunity to come back to teach. After much thought, I realized how much I missed learning and teaching.

I realized through the years how much I truly love to create beautiful things and the clay allows me to express myself in ways that are limitless. I love teaching others who share a similar mindset and want to share this art form forward. What I love about this business is that I can take it anywhere, In fact, I have run my home-based business in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, and most recently, Jacksonville, Florida.

Since our move to Florida started at the beginning of the pandemic, most of my classes have been online. While this is meant to be a hands-on art form, that wasn’t quite possible with all the restrictions. So while not ideal, it was still a great way to be able to teach, learn and enjoy that 1:1 connection with students.

I teach everything from kids classes to adult discovery classes, but mostly I focus on the curriculum courses of the DECO Clay Craft Academy. It’s a wonderful community of women (some men) who love clay art and we have the most supportive family of members around the world. DECO is currently in 15 countries worldwide with over 17,000 members.

As we come out of the pandemic, my goal is to share DECO clay classes with the local Jacksonville community and have hands-on, in-person classes once again.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a one-person company, it’s been a lot of ups and downs. I did a lot of failing forward and learning by trial and error. I didn’t have all the answers, but my business degree and wanting to be successful at making what most would call a craft or hobby an actual business inspired me to not give up.

I think the biggest lesson I learned in the 21 years is to be humble, and never forget who your mentors and teachers are. Never let your ego take control of your decisions because ultimately it will end up hurting you in the end. Have a heart of service mindset and don’t view people as your competition but as an extension of your passion and success.

The struggles I faced and the realization of what mistakes I made, helped me to become a better person and a better business owner. Ultimately, it’s important to enjoy what you do.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Essentially, I create lifelike flowers, sculptures, and figurines out of unique, air-dry polymer clay that can be used for weddings, special events, home decor, and gifts. Everything is sculpted by hand using minimal tools and molds. There are several types of air-dry clay that we use for different effects.

The clay is suitable for kids and adults, it’s non-toxic, lightweight, and easy to use. In the beginning, I specialized mostly in clay flowers for weddings (bouquets, centerpieces, boutonnieres, corsages, cake flowers, wedding favors, etc). Most of my business now is custom orders for home decor and some weddings.

The bulk of my time is spent teaching and working part-time for the DECO Clay Craft Academy doing marketing, social media, and translations.

My biggest achievement is being on live TV on the Martha Stewart Show. I think what sets me apart is my attention to detail, my work speaks for itself. While there is a growing number of clay artists in the world, I still get asked by interested women around the world to teach them when they have instructors closer to them.

The biggest piece of being successful in this clay art form is simply practicing and always striving to figure out ways to improve your technique.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I have made it my mission to help those who are just starting out in this art form and want to create their own business. Whether it’s just friendly tips, do’s and don’ts I have learned along the way, how to take good photos, how to price your art, etc., I think this really helps those who are new to the business not be so afraid to try.

I wish I made better business decisions in terms of spending money. I would buy things with the intention to use them and they ended up sitting for years and years in inboxes. I ended up donating them to my students when we left New Jersey because my husband was tired of packing them every time we moved.

I wish too, I didn’t let my ego get the best of me, I really felt that it hurt me along the way. I’m grateful though that I learned it was leading me down the wrong path eventually and I was able to make the correction it’s proved to be very successful in terms of my relationships with DECO, my students, and instructors.

Pricing:

• Floral Arrangements: $40-2000
• Wedding bouquets: $50-600
• Cake flowers: $20-300
• Hair flowers: $5-150
• Favors: $10-15/each

Contact Info:

• Email: diane@dkdesignshawaii.com
• Website: www.dkdesignshawaii.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/dkdesigns
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dkdesignshawaii
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/dkdesigns

Image Credits
Terri Rippee of Rippee Photography