Flagler student morphs class into business

By Charlotte Johnston | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Flagler College junior Lauren Streett has been creating pieces of jewelry since her junior year of high school.

In 2007, Streett found herself short one elective to keep on track with her credits to graduate.

There was an opening in a beginner’s ceramics class, and despite the fact that she had never worked with clay or a pottery wheel, she decided to take the class.

Soon she began making unique, girly necklaces rather than ordinary boxes and bowls on the pottery wheel.

Originally, she made them to wear herself or give to family and friends.

The idea of making a profit never crossed her mind. However, Streett turned her hobby into a small business to help pay for expenses.

“It makes me very happy to make something and to see it on someone,” Streett said.

Some of her designs include a teddy bear with a heart, a seahorse, a pirate ship and a treasure chest. She also makes necklaces to represent the fight against breast cancer. All of those funds are given to Susan G. Komen for The Cure.

When asked what inspires her creations, Streett said that she frequently visits antique shops to collect “old school” cookie cutters and plastic molds.

“Anything cute and girly, basically whatever I find, inspires me,” she said.

According to Streett, sometimes it can take up to a week for a single necklace to be made. After it has been formed, it must dry. Then, it is heated in a kiln, and once it is painted and glazed, it is heated again.

As far as future plans go, Streett plans on making as much art as she can without neglecting her work life. She plans to start up a web blog to go along with her online store on etsy.com.

She will also be working with the Photography Club at Flagler College to find and hire aspiring photographers with a creative eye to capture her products and present them in a fashionable, appealing way.