Working from home with two small children is no easy feat, but Erin Lynne Meunier managed to not only build her business after having baby number one, she found it taking off after baby number two. Elm Studios’ designs are sold on Etsy, an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. Here you’ll find unique items crafted by talented individuals from all over the globe. Erin’s shop showcases delicately beautiful jewelry and enchanting pottery, and the way in which Elm Studios was born is just as intriguing.

Erin’s mom bought her a necklace for her 25th birthday. It was perfect—exactly Erin’s style—so much so, she already owned it. “I remember talking to my husband about returning it and using the money to buy some beads so that I could make a necklace I knew no one else would have,” she shares. “I had no idea what I was doing, so I bought one of those kiddy kits with ‘simple’ instructions. Though I’m not one to read instructions,” she admits. “I’m more of a hands-on type of gal.” Erin strung together a necklace and found it therapeutic. “At the time, I only had my daughter, Ella, who was one. She took good afternoon naps, so it was the perfect time to start creating again instead of watching 'Gilmore Girls' for the second time,” she confesses. She found a bead store right at the end of her street and learned tips from the woman who worked there. Soon after that milestone birthday, Erin invested the $400 she was gifted from graduating college, and started her business through word of mouth.

“I always wanted to start a business using my initials.” Hence, Erin Lynne Meunier created Elm Studios with the desire to create and armed with a degree in Fine Arts from Alfred University. But the beginnings weren’t easy.

“A girl has to start somewhere,” she says. “My husband and I are youth group directors at our church, and two girls from my youth group agreed to try and sell my jewelry at their school or to family if I gave them a percentage of the profit. Eventually, like all teenage girls do, they lost interest,” says Erin. “So I went to the floral shop I worked at throughout college and asked if they would carry an earring display as consignment.” It worked. The florist, along with five other stores, began carrying Elm Studio originals.

Online Endeavors
“I’ve always wanted to create more,” she shares. Success is measured in many ways, and Erin felt glimmers of it when stores carried her pieces, but she wanted to take her business to the next level. Then she learned of Etsy. Her sister, who sells accessories on Etsy, told her about it. “I said to her, ‘What did you say? That doesn’t sound like a word!’ Luckily, I looked into it,” she says. Etsy gave her an online outlet to expand the business to pottery, something she knew her husband was interested in getting involved in. “No more boring nights in front of the TV anymore!” she quips. “Etsy has really allowed me to go in whatever direction I’m passionate about at the time.”

She recalls when she first launched her virtual store how she met a woman from the bead shop who also sold on Etsy. “I asked her if she only sells to people she knows—a funny question to her. She told me that she sold to everyone and anyone from all over. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed by her answer. It would determine my success if I sold something to someone I didn’t know without any obligation from a jewelry party,” she reveals. In February, she made her first outside sale after one month of posting pieces on the site. “I was so excited and I felt like I accomplished my first goal,” she says. It started snowballing from there, and at press time, Erin has sold over one hundred pieces—to people all over.

In the early days of Elm Studios, she only had Ella, and then Myah was born in January 2007. In the beginning, she says it was easy to balance it all. “Ella wasn’t a calm baby, but she did take good naps and I took advantage of every second I had to work on Elm Studios. Plus, I sold enough stuff to help out my addiction to shopping,” she reveals. “It was something that I had, for myself, and it felt good. Every mother I talk to that stays home with her kids worries so much about being selfish. But from time to time, we need to take a break and remember who we are and what helps complete us,” she says. “For me, it was having a creative outlet.”

Now that Ella is three-years-old and Myah is one—the challenge of balancing it all is greater. Being a stay-at-home mom when your job is at home isn’t easy. “I still take advantage of their naps,” she shares. “It took three months to get Ella and Myah on the same schedule, but I was determined,” she says. Erin used to never stay up past 10pm, but now she’s up as late as she needs to be to keep up with the businesses. “When I do sleep, I’m usually dreaming about an order I’m working on,” she confesses. “I’m trying very hard to keep it separated from my kids, but my office is in my home. When I pass by the computer I can’t help but take a peek to see if I’ve sold anything. It’s hectic, but very rewarding. I try to take Saturdays off,” she says.

All In The Family
A woman with strong family values, Erin’s inspiration comes from her family. “I’ve always been family oriented and without them I wouldn’t have great moments that I would want to capture on a piece of art,” she shares. “Every day is different, but my kids come first. I try to find balance in my routine. I might paint during their naps or fill order when they’re in bed at night. It’s challenging, but with the help of Playdoh and finger-paints, things are much more manageable,” she says.

Erin’s husband works as a financial planner, but ceramics is his passion, giving the couple opportunities to collaborate. “He gives me the bowls and I design and paint them,” Erin says. “One would not be complete without the other.”

Their children are their inspiration. “I’ve never felt love like this before…I should imprint that on a bowl,” Erin shares. “My girls mean the world to me. I want them to tackle every opportunity they’re given, and I never want to tell them that it’s not possible. My daughter loves to sing, and one day she was singing, ‘You are my sunshine.’ I couldn’t help but make a bowl with those words on it.” Ella may be in on the family business soon enough. “She loves to paint when I’m working on my pieces. I encourage her and tell her that her paintings are beautiful. In return, she always gives me compliments on my work. Often we have to tell her to not touch something, which now, she tells us not to touch her painting because it’s drying. She’s a mini me!” Erin says.

Erin adds, “Myah’s laugh is so contagious, I’m ready to make a bowl for her that says ‘Myah’s Laugh’ just so I can look at it and remember the sound. My work is very personal to me, yet I think any woman out there can relate to it. I’m a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and a romantic at heart. I just want my work to make another woman out there remember a simple time in her life that would make her smile. My work represents all these moments inspired by my many titles I have.”

They are a busy family. “Sometimes my husband works mornings and other times he works nights,” she says, which makes scheduling somewhat difficult. “Making a schedule and sticking to it would be the best thing we can do. Dealing with the kids at home has definitely been challenging. Since I’ve made Elm Studios a big part of my life I can see Ella fighting for my attention sometimes,” she says, “but I make sure I get good quality time with my girls throughout the day, and when they’re playing with each other quietly I can paint at the kitchen table. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it is very fulfilling.”

Erin’s Extras
What’s in your handbag? Pictures of my kids and husband Rick, every discount card out there, coupons, Kleenex, credit cards and many pens.
Favorite makeup? I would have to say my eyeliner. I’ve tried to quit, but I just don’t look like myself without it.
Beauty secret? I think it’s essential to use moisturizer on your face everyday.
Fashion secret? Add a beautiful necklace and earrings to any plain outfit to dress it up.
Best stress reliever? Painting.
Dream purchase you would like to make someday? Elm Studios…an actual studio where other artist can come and work on their art, and sell their stuff in the area. It would be a place where we hold classes on anything from painting to wheel. After this is successful, then I would like a lake house for our family to enjoy.
Electronic gadget you cover? Every electronic gadget I have is collecting dust.
Favorite CD? This is probably the toughest question…I listen to a wide variety of music. One second I’m listening to country, then the next hip-hop. But I would have to say I have every CD of Tim McGraw…he’s definitely one of my favorites.

To view and purchase from Elm Studios on Etsy click here.