MORGANTOWN—At five years old, Ava Reynolds knew exactly what to say when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.
“I always said, ‘an artist’,” said Reynolds, owner of Little Wizard Designs.
That dream became reality when she started her online shop last year in August. She learned about using polymer clay as a medium through Instagram and started making earrings out of the clay.
Reynolds said polymer clay has been the perfect medium for making jewelry because it is lightweight and doesn’t require a kiln. With it, she is able to create a unique design for every batch of earrings.
Making a batch of earrings can take three to five hours starting with rolling the polymer clay using a pasta machine. Next, she might hand paint a design or decorate them with handmade lemons, strawberries, stars and more. Finally, the batch goes into the oven.
Making earrings started out as a hobby for Reynolds. Once she posted some of the work to her private Instagram account, many of her friends wanted a pair.
“I had a couple of people [direct message] me and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, these are amazing. Are you going to sell these?’,” she said. “They told me that I should go for it. I came up with the name ‘Little Wizard’ and I made an Instagram account.”
The name came to Reynolds for a special reason. Reynolds had a cat named Merlin who passed away unexpectedly a few weeks before opening her shop. Reynolds also has a cat named Gandalf, and together, she called them her little wizards.
The logo also reveals the silhouette of a cat intended to portray Merlin sitting on top of the crescent moon.
“That was kind of the big inspiration with the name,” she said.
Reynolds has enjoyed testing out new methods to perfect her design. She recently began sealing her designs with ultraviolet resin to give a shiny, finished look.
Incorporating any new methods takes time to master, which is something Reynolds has learned along the way.
“I got it in my hair actually the other week,” she said. “I had this giant chunk of hardened UV resin that I had to cut out of my hair, which was kind of funny.”
Reynolds sells her products through Etsy and mainly uses Instagram to advertise her work. She has also partnered with local businesses to display her work, including BlissBlissBliss, a message therapy center in Morgantown.
She said one of the most rewarding parts of running a small business has been building a regular customer base. Occasionally, when she wears her earrings out, people will recognize her work and comment on it.
However, because her shop is online, it is rare for her to have the opportunity to interact with her customers. The Arts Walk held in April in downtown Morgantown was one of the few experiences she has had interacting with customers.
Many of the interactions she had during the event were memorable and rewarding ones.
“There was this woman that came in and she was the first customer of the day at Art Walk,” Reynolds said. “She was like, ‘I came all the way downtown just for you, I’ve been waiting all month for this’.”
Reynolds will not be attending the May Arts Walk, but plans to attend the one in June. Those interested in owning a pair of Little Wizard earrings don’t have to wait until then, as she plans to update her online Esty shop on May 7 at 5 p.m.
Reynold’s work as well as the link to her Etsy shop can be found by visiting her Instagram account at instagram.com/littlewizarddesigns.
