Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Kim.
Janet, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always knew I was an artist. However, my professional journey started out on TV as a news reporter bouncing from story to story and city to city. For ten years I chased wildfires, hurricanes, criminals and national headlines. I hung up the microphone to chase around two little ones, and I needed a place to direct my creative energy.
With an uncontrollable desire to learn new skills, I found myself elbow-deep in clay one evening at a local pottery studio. What started as a side hobby to decompress soon became a side business – Big Fête Home: a small batch handcrafted ceramics line of modern, playful housewares – which I run full-time today. (@bigfetehome)
When I’m not in my studio, you can find me designing and building semi-custom playhouses in a co-venture with my friend and neighbor Jihyun, another creative San Diego momma! We just launched Mini Playhomes (@miniplayhomes) this summer when we couldn’t find modern, quality playhouses… so we decided to make our own!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge has been overcoming my own fears and doubts about running a creative business. Being a one-woman show, you have to motivate yourself to put out constant, consistent, creative content while also running the administrative side of things.
I had to learn to put in a lot of work, every week, every day so that my craft would eventually catch up to my ambitions. In the process, I let go of my worries and started celebrating small successes to get where I am today!
Big Fête Home – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We’re a small batch ceramics company, and most of the goods are exclusively sold at local fairs and makers’ bazaars for a reason. There’s great pride in creating functional, playful handmade serveware that often involves intricate cutouts and molding of clay. Each piece is original and unlike another… one can take several days to make, shape, and bake!
Delicate patterns are first cut on paper to use as a template, then transferred onto the clay to be shaped and cut. Some pieces have over a hundred cutouts – it’s definitely a labor of love!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @bigfetehome
- Facebook: @miniplayhomes
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