camel city glass
making magic
Kelly was looking for a hobby as a stay at home mom to toddler triplets. Turns out she’s pretty good at creating stained glass.
more than a passion project
Working as a Human Resources professional, Kelly always asked her job candidates, “what’s your passion? What do you really want to do?” Now she’s following her own advice.
One year after leaving her job to care for her toddler children, Kelly was looking for an outlet. While cleaning out the family garage, she stumbled across some old stained glass tools that belonged to her mother.
“I grew up watching my mom make stained glass pieces.”
“She would go into the garage and listen to her music and be creative. We knew not to bother her and let her just vibe out.”
Kelly’s stained glass practice was fun and satisfying- the sense of accomplishment she felt from completing a project drove her to continually perfect her product. In no time she was gifting her creations to family and friends, before setting up an Etsy shop to ‘test the waters’ of her potential.
“I’ve always liked having metrics and deadlines to meet,” explained Kelly. So she promised herself if she got 50 Etsy sales, she would create an instagram account to share her work.
Now, hundreds of sales later, she’s found that people are genuinely interested in her creation process. Through instagram, she’s been able to plug into the stained glass community, share tips and tricks with other glass artists and stay inspired.
all about range
Kelly fulfills all different styles of custom orders, from traditional stained glass pieces to funky, modern and eclectic pieces.
Her tried and true mountain range style started as a commissioned piece, but after sharing it to Instagram, Kelly stocked premade inventory on her Etsy shop.
These creations are in high demand, and they now routinely sell out in under 10 minutes.
this one’s for you, camel city
The sense of belonging and community support as a business owner in Winston Salem, North Carolina (nicknamed Camel City) was unanticipated for Kelly. Pre-pandemic, Kelly was selling at local markets where she connected with other Winston Salem creators and businesses.
Lockdown was particularly difficult for restaurant owners everywhere. That’s why Kelly donated 15% of her sales to local bars and restaurants in Winston Salem, to do her part in helping the small business community that embraced her with open arms.
shoot for the moon
For Kelly, the magic of Camel City Glass hasn’t worn off. “Every time I make a sale I do a little squeal,” she laughed. “I will never take a purchase for granted.”
Follow along on instagram @camelcityglass and shop from the new website to shop premade items and order custom work. Use code Novel10 for 10% off your entire order.