About LushClayCo
Made with
hands that
remember.
Where tradition meets the studio, a story rooted in two continents, one craft, and a stubborn refusal to make anything that isn’t worth making.
The story of Ela Aydin & LushClayCo
“Every time I tried to explain where I come from, words weren’t enough. So I started designing instead.”
— Ela Aydin, Founder
This is her story. And perhaps, a little bit of yours too, if you’ve ever been someone who makes things with love.
Chapter one
The girl between two worlds
Ela grew up between Turkish summers and Australian open skies, two places, two ways of seeing beauty. Her Turkish heritage gave her an eye for pattern, for the kind of geometry that lives in ancient tiles, woven rugs, and hand-carved wood. Her Australian upbringing gave her the confidence to make it her own.
She carried both worlds with her when she moved to America. And when she discovered polymer clay, she found the place where they finally met, in something small enough to hold in her hands, and precise enough to feel like art.
She did not make that journey alone. A tiny Maltese named Lola, barely 1.6 pounds, was with her through all of it. Through the unfamiliar country, the new city, the years of finding her footing. Lola understood her in the way only certain animals do, every mood, every sound, every quiet moment. When Lola was gone, Ela did not leave the house for three years. Some losses do not have a clean end. They just become part of how you carry yourself forward. Ela believes bits of Lola live on in Dante, the dog who came after, traits picked up across time, as if something was passed along that could not be named.
Rooted in heritage
The language of
Turkish craft
Every cutter in the LushClayCo collection carries a name drawn from the Turkish language, words chosen not for decoration, but for meaning. The suffix Şemse (shehm-seh) refers to a rosette motif found across centuries of Ottoman art. It is the thread that connects each design back to something real.
From the collection
marble-pattern rosette
flower rosette
wave rosette
earth rosette
“These names aren’t decorative. They’re the part of me I couldn’t leave out.”
Chapter two
The craft
A personal obsession becomes a product
What started as Ela’s own need for high-quality polymer clay cutters became something she couldn’t keep to herself. She couldn’t find tools that matched her vision, so she designed her own.
Every curve hand drawn, every line considered.
Not because perfection wasn’t the goal, but because perfection without soul isn’t worth chasing. Each design is personally tested by Ela before it reaches you, on her clay, at her settings, with her hands.
Luxury, without the distance
LushClayCo grew into a studio brand, elevated in design, approachable in spirit. A Patreon community. Studio Licences for fellow makers. A shop built around craft, not trend.
A growing catalog, always expanding
100+ designs created and counting. Each one carrying forward the same standards, cultural roots, clean lines, and a cutter that feels like it was made exactly for you.
Chapter three
The person behind the studio
Growing up surrounded by animals shaped Ela in ways she still carries today. From peacocks to sheep, her childhood was full of creatures that needed care and attention, and she gave it freely. That love never left. She is a lifelong animal advocate, deeply eco-conscious, and genuinely invested in the health of the natural world around her.
She currently cares for five rescue cats and one small dog who finds himself regularly outnumbered and occasionally outranked. When the studio gets too loud in her head, she finds quiet at the wood lathe, a kind of moving meditation that rewards patience in the same way a well-cut design does. LushClayCo is how she funds that life, and every order, subscription, and share makes it possible to keep going.
Chapter four
What we stand for
The LushClayCo promise
We believe the tools you use should be as
considered as the things you make.
Tested in Clay
Every design is tested in Ela’s own studio before it reaches you. Real hands, real clay, real conditions. She shares exactly how she works so you have the best possible starting point, clay brand, thickness, surface, all of it.
Made with Meaning
The names, the motifs, the collections, each one rooted in cultural heritage and personal story. Nothing here is traced from a vector or generated by a machine. Every line is drawn by hand, carrying centuries of design tradition.
Built Around Craft
LushClayCo exists for makers who want their work to stand out, not because it followed a trend, but because it couldn’t have come from anywhere else.
Ready to bring the studio home?
Explore the full LushClayCo collection, or join Ela’s Patreon community for early access, exclusive designs, and a seat at the studio table.