Meet Clay Icon Crow

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Clay Icon Crow. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Clay Icon , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Know thyself wasn’t a phrase that came natural for me. I wanted everyone else to be happy without understanding what made me happy. What came out of that was the awareness that I was already happy and my ability to see the best in others made me happier when I reflected that for them to see.
Over time, I learned to trust my intuition because it often guided me outside of usual expectations.
I had to learn to trust my vision and intuition even if I didn’t know where it was going to take me.
The next step comes from the last leap of faith. I began to notice that when I didn’t trust my intuition, I became miserable and depressed.
But when I believed in my vision, even if it didn’t make sense, I attracted more creativity within myself that grew from the previous project.
The universe provides the next piece through people that notice my work.
When I trust and act on the sign or message, unbelievable success comes from the Joy of making that project happen.
I know this is all trite and vague but there are specific examples that will come out if this interview allowed them to unfold.
I began making gemstone bracelets and pendents out of my love for stones and I never imagined that I would be vending my own little business at local craft and farmer’s markets at this age in my life and I certainly didn’t imagine that it would turn into a profitable business based on making primitive handmade Gemstone items that I truly love to make and share.
Each step of this vending & marketing process gave me both inspiration to create more, and developed my Self esteem and confidence to continue.
There’d lots of people making bracelets but not exactly like mine, with My intuitive intentions and in the way that we love to present them to the world.
Magic is happening at this stage in my life!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I grew up in rural Ohio. My primary career path my entire Life has been a community pharmacist ( of 35 years) yet I have always had the desire to be known as an artist.
In my pharmacy practice, I’ve always loved being able to connect with people and help them make decisions about their healthcare, but most importantly just connecting with folks and developing relationships with kindness.

23 years ago when I was flying back to Columbus from visiting friends in San Diego, I missed my connection in Phoenix and had 24 hours to explore the Arizona desert landscape.
I had never been to Arizona and something in my spirit awakened from the experience of being there that day.

I felt a calling to explore Tucson and within my first visit, decided to move the the Sonora desert.
I have collected rocks and stones my whole life and had no idea that the largest Gemshow on the planet came to Tucson every February!

I connected with festival kids who came to Tucson annually to acquire Gemstones for their wire wrapping Art businesses and I loved watching them creative and vend their Pieces.

4 years ago ( today actually) I saw an add for a Lapis Bracelet that I wanted to get for my partner and myself that were $80. I have been collecting beads along with my stones so I decided to try to make our own Lapis Brackets.
I was so happy with how they turned out that I posted a photo of them on Facebook. Several friends commented that they wanted Us to make One for them. And so we did.

My partner and I had just started dating after being single for over a decade.
( Love happens after 50!)
We found ourselves supporting each other’s creative aspirations and so we began putting out all of Our hobbies of acrylic painting and Even making rattles out of dried gourds..
And making bracelets and Pendants from simple beads and stones.

Once again we posted photos of the bracelets ( this time there were a dozen) and more people wanted to send us money to ship them!

So we started making more.
It became apparent that something was happening and I decided to get a standard business license.
And of course I had to create a name for the business.
I was still taking Old thrift store “art” and repainting over it so I wasn’t sure if we were only going to make bracelets.
My middle name is ICON and I liked idea of using that as my “Hobby business” since it connects my formal last night to my casual first name…
So “ICON Art-Works” was born in May 2024.
My vision was not to have an online business.
I wanted ( and want) a tangible intimate in person experience that allowed for intuitive connections to see what speaks to you…

I never thought I’d be vending at farmer’s markets but that made the most sense for what I wanted.
So we began signing up for any market event that would take beginner amateurs like Us.
We made All of our own booth props and displays and began our vending adventure.
Tucson has an amazing abundance of craft and local markets and I soon realized that there is a beautiful vending culture community of Artists and makers to connect with.
New friends that we would have never met had we not made and posted that Lapis bracelet ( that I still have on today).

After a few random markets and night market events, we soon realized that we could actually break even by the second year and also realized that this could actually be more than a “hobby business.”

Market after market, our quality and sales increased.
But more importantly, I was getting the community connection that pharmacy used to provide for my soul.

I’d design bracelets and Pendants every night as my way to unwind after work and felt our passion, dedication and determination growing!

We don’t feel drawn to consignment shops or online selling because we want to see who is drawn to each stone or piece.

We meticulously rescue the stones from venders at the Tucson gem and mineral show, Many times digging through barrels and buckets to salvage and Polish them up to be brought back into civilization to be loved And appreciated.
Human Beings have been trying Stones with string and wearing them around their necks for thousands of years.
And the word for bead originated from prayers.
It’s exciting to reconnect the physical grounding stones to be a part of someone’s life as and continue on its journey traveling the world.

We’ve found our favorite and successful markets but also enjoy smaller less frequent themed markets like the goth night at a brewery or Saturday mornings in a small independent coffee house.

It’s important for Us to create the highest quality Gemstone Bracelets and Pendants while having fun and connecting with people, eye contact, hugs, grounding us in joy.
I like to tell everyone that every time they put on the pendant or bracelet to remember how awesome they are.

We also started making Gemstone earrings ( because everyone kept asking us to!)

And with all of the larger Beads that I’ve been collecting, we started making what I call “Spirit Communicators”.
They are 30 inch strands of large beads of amethyst, tiger’s Eye, lapis, turquoise and other natural stones that have a bell at the bottom.
I made these when a good friend passed and gave them to his closest friends so that whenever Stan wants to talk to Us he can ring the bell.
We actually sell quite a lot of the spirit Communicators!

We have found that by making what we truly love and not just trying to mass market the bracelets as products, we feel that the ethical and loving energy we put into our work is felt an seen.

The last 2 markets we exceeded sales over my pharmacist salary and though we are not monetizing our business just yet, we are at a crossroads for “this” becoming bigger than we had anticipated.

I wish I had started vending 20 years ago!
And we encourage everyone at our booth to find their passion and believe in it!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Trust your instincts. If you feel it or see it in your head, give it time to unfold.
Believe in it.

Listen to what your patrons express.
It’s okay to set boundaries and say no, but listen to what they say because the universe speaks thru the people who come back. We started making new things because that we didn’t know how to make because someone asked Us to make it for her
( Restringing Mala beads)
And now we have them in our booth with our other offerings)

Make something everyday.
If you are too tired to make something, set yourself up to make it tomorrow.
(If I’m too tired to make a quality bracelet, I lay out some stones and bails to make pendants in the morning.
Creating leads to more creating.)

And go back to look at your work before you go to bed.
Inspiration comes from itself

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

My partner has actually been the most supportive part of making this happen.
He is the original quality control and keeps me motivated to do the same.
It takes a second person to bounce ideas off of and track that you are doing your best work.
Holding each other accountable while supporting each other lift the weights.

I inspire him as well when his Creativity has waned.
Setting up the booth with the weights tables and signs is just as important as the quality work you present on the table.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Clay.crow
• Facebook: Icon Art-Works ( page of Clay Crow)
• Other: Instagram Clay.crow is our primary social media communication

Image Credits

Clay Icon Crow
James Jason Henson