By Anna Grace Moore
Photos by Blair Ramsey
To find one’s purpose, one must find her passion–a catalyst fusing her will to achieve even her wildest dreams. For artist Stephanie Farrell, finding a newfound purpose came at an uncertain time in her life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stephanie, who graduated from UAB with a degree in marketing, worked in computer software for several years before bringing her son into the world in 2014. She has since focused on being a homemaker–her number-one priority being raising her son.
One day while shopping with a friend, Stephanie and her friend saw a pair of clay earrings. Her friend told her she could make something similar, but Stephanie shrugged it off, laughing.
Fast forward several months, and the pandemic hit, forcing her son to do virtual school. Stephanie joked that preoccupying her then kindergarten-age child proved no small feat, so she watched YouTube videos on creating arts and crafts–anything she could think of to do with her son.
“I started watching YouTube videos on clay earrings, and for months, I played with clay and made little earrings,” Stephanie says. “My husband came into my studio and said, ‘What are you going to do with all of these? You have two ears!’”
With her husband’s encouragement, Stephanie decided to take a leap of faith and try something new: opening her own jewelry business. Six16 Creative–a moniker referencing her son’s birthday–officially launched in August 2021, and since then, Stephanie has traveled locally, selling her jewelry at pop-up shops, vendor markets and more.
To make her jewelry, Stephanie first sources her clay and dyes from as many small, local businesses as she can. She loves supporting small business owners such as herself.
She then will mix colors into the clay, folding the clay and meshing it into clay cutters, which she describes as “clay cookie cutters.” Some designs she cuts by hand.
Depending on what type of design she’s feeling, Stephanie will add in differently textured elements for a unique look and will bake her designs into perfection. Once her clay designs come out of the oven, she sands the edges and assembles the earring clasps onto them.
With near 100 designs to choose from, Six16 Creative offers a wide variety of both earrings for pierced ears and clip-ons, options for customers of all ages and with different tastes. Some of Stephanie’s best-sellers are from her holiday collections, such as Christmas trees and wreaths, baby chicks for Easter and pumpkins or ghosts for Halloween.
Those with an eclectic taste will appreciate the business’s design featuring the cast of “The Golden Girls” or the infamous “leg lamp” from “A Christmas Story.”
Six16 Creative also sports a line of business professional earrings with colors matching any season’s palette. No matter what a customer is looking for, if Stephanie does not already sell it, she can create it.
“I try to make things that are fun and unique–things not everyone has,” Stephanie says. “I have a lot of black and white earrings, but they’re not just run of the mill. I always incorporate something fun into my designs.”
One of her favorite designs to create are custom orders. One of Stephanie’s customers took her daughter to one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts. To commemorate their memory together, Stephanie made special earrings saying, “eras,” for both the mom and her daughter to wear.
When she first started her business, Stephanie says she didn’t realize how much younger girls enjoyed being able to match with their mothers. She now creates smaller versions of her larger designs (some clip-on options as well) for daughters and mothers to match.
“I have found one of the most exciting parts of this business is watching their faces light up when I would say, ‘I have something for you, too,’” Stephanie says of her “littlest customers.”
Not only does Stephanie enjoy creating unique works of art, but she also pays attention to how Six16 Creative can benefit the community that has helped her grow her business. Vestavia Hills Elementary West (VHEW)–her son’s school–has a food pantry that gives out take-home meals on weekends for children who are food insecure.
Stephanie decided to create designs modeled after VHEW’s service dog, Merlin, and a portion of those proceeds benefited the food pantry’s missions. Several of VHEW’s female students wore “Merlin” in their ears in support of Six16 Creative’s efforts, and the fad became such a wholesome way for the community to give back to those in need.
“I get to create things, where people can ‘wear their memories’ and share those with whom they love,” Stephanie says. “It’s cool to be a part of those experiences for others.”
The sense of accomplishment she feels from creating, Stephanie says, is a feeling she will never stop chasing. Thanks to Six16 Creative, she, too, is able to provide for her family–another blessing born from her passion.
Stephanie says she never would have thought she could become an entrepreneur–much less an artist–without her friends and family’s support. She credits her husband for helping ignite her dreams into fruition.
Looking forward, Stephanie hopes her business will inspire other stay-at-home mothers to pursue their goals outside of creating a haven of which to raise their children. After all, if one can dream it, she can do it, Stephanie says.
To view more of Stephanie’s designs or purchase some of her earrings, visit six16creative.com. Follow Six16 Creative on Facebook and Instagram @six16creative.
Gifts for the Gals
Stephanie takes custom requests for bridal parties and has even made matching earrings for bachelorette parties, too. These gifts make the perfect “thank you” from brides-to-be to their bridesmaids. To inquire about custom orders or view some of Stephanie’s wearable art, visit six16creative.com.
Simply, Thank You
“It feels incredible to be able to know that I can provide with money that I made from my own hands,” Stephanie says. “It’s not all about financial gain, however. When customers buy from Six16 Creative, they buy part of my heart and soul because I put everything I have into this business.”
