Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikayla Geffert.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to Carlisle in 2019 and found myself needing a creative outlet to make up for my boring corporate job. I always enjoyed fun earrings and often found myself on Pinterest looking at jewelry. One day I went on Etsy and purchased a little mold to make some little succulent earrings for myself. Even though these earrings were far simpler than anything I make today, I had so much fun creating again. After a few weeks of creating, Covid hit Carlisle and I spent the next few months navigating our new normal day to day life. Luckily, with Covid happening, the company I was working for went remote for a few years so I was able to stay home and work on my business. In November of 2022 I attended my first craft show and was hoping to sell just one pair of earrings. Little did I know I’d go on to sell over 15 pairs that day! I also went into that market with an official business name, Toast and Co. The name comes from our first cat that my husband and I rescued together in 2019 not even a month after moving to Carlisle. While Toast is the logo and the namesake, I also wanted to somehow include the rest of our cats that we’ve rescued over the years, so instead of just calling myself Toast, I added the and Co. on the end to make up for the others. At this point I was hooked and continued to do events and build my inventory. The following year in 2023 I went on to book more and more events and even moved into my first consignment shop. In 2024, the company I worked for decided they were going to go back to the office part-time, but at this point I was so committed to my business that going back to the office gave me terrible anxiety since I had become accustomed to working from home. In September 2024, I left my corporate job and was focusing on my business. My first full year full time was challenging and I questioned my decision many, many times, but here we are in 2026, with an event every single weekend (sometimes multiple events per week!) and even selling on my own website!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not (lol) the weather is my biggest enemy. If I’m set to go to an event and the weather is awful, it affects turnout and sometimes events even get cancelled. It’s tough when you’re full time and you’re relying on making money on the weekends to pay your bills and the weather decides to not cooperate.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I like to tell people that the process of creating earrings out of polymer clay is similar to baking cookies! I use 3d printed cutters to cut out my designs, then I’ll add liquid clay if I’m adding color before baking and I’ll do all the extra detail work like florals before baking. When they’re ready for the oven I bake them at 285 for 45 minutes. After baking I’ll give them a quick wash to get off excess cornstarch that I use so they don’t stick to the cutters I use. Next is sanding, which is admittedly my least favorite part. After sanding they get drilled and assembled and they’re ready to sell! I think the pair that I’m most proud of are my Nightwing and Daydream dragon dangles. I’ve always loved mythical things are dragons are my favorite and I really enjoy crafting all my florals by hand. I think what sets me apart the most is that I don’t stick to one niche. I genuinely enjoy creating a wide variety of things whereas a lot of polymer clay artists that I know stick to my chic, everyday designs, whereas I’m all about variety and especially embracing the weird, out of the box designs!
How do you think about luck?
I’m VERY lucky that my husband has the job that he does. Without him being full time wouldn’t be possible. When it comes to bad luck, I blame the weather since it directly impacts my markets and sales.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toastandco.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toastandco5/profilecard/?igsh=ZHpta2NobmJpcTZ2
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15hxbHawEf/?mibextid=wwXIfr
