{"id":269,"date":"2025-12-08T16:16:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T16:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/?p=269"},"modified":"2025-12-19T17:46:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:46:57","slug":"from-clay-to-characters-what-ive-learned-building-a-brand-from-the-ground-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/from-clay-to-characters-what-ive-learned-building-a-brand-from-the-ground-up\/","title":{"rendered":"From Clay to Characters: What I\u2019ve Learned Building a Brand from the Ground Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reflections on Ploppals, purpose, and permission to play.<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I started Ploppals, I didn\u2019t have a polished roadmap. I had a background in pottery, a hunger to create, and a little idea that a plush poop could make people smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward a year and a half later – and I\u2019ve built a brand that\u2019s more than a product. Ploppals is a feeling. A message. A joyful, healing reminder that we are all<\/em> worthy of love (yes, even on the hard days). And the process of building this brand has changed me in ways I couldn\u2019t have predicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned along the way – lessons shaped by clay, chaos, and creativity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Start Messy, Stay Curious<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Perfection kills momentum. Progress loves play.
Some of my best breakthroughs started with scribbles and \u201cwhat-ifs.\u201d You don\u2019t have to wait until it\u2019s perfect to begin – you just have to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Brand Is a Living, Laughing Thing<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ploppals isn\u2019t just a product – it\u2019s a feeling.
I\u2019ve learned how to shape that feeling into every touchpoint, from taglines to toy tags. A brand is something you feel<\/em>, and that takes heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Purpose > Product<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When your \u201cwhy\u201d is clear, your decisions get easier.
Packaging, pricing, punchlines – they all snap into place when you remember why you started. My \u201cwhy\u201d is joy. It leads every step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AI Isn\u2019t Cold – It\u2019s a Collaborator<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Working with tools like ChatGPT has been a gift.
It\u2019s like having a brilliant, patient marketing intern who doesn\u2019t need coffee breaks. I\u2019ve learned how to brainstorm better, write more clearly, and stay true to my voice\u2014with a little digital support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People Will Cheer You On<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The right community wants to see you shine.
I found this through The Rainmaker Family mentorship and beyond. Building a brand rooted in love draws people who lead with heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPoop\u201d Can Be Sacred<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yes, really.
Turns out humor and healing go hand in hand. Laughter can soften shame. A silly plush can carry serious comfort. That\u2019s not nonsense – that\u2019s magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You Don\u2019t Have to Know Everything to Start<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve launched products, tackled manufacturing, created a publishing imprint, and navigated Amazon\u2019s maze – all without a business degree.
Just courage, community, Google, and a willingness to figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marketing Is Just Storytelling with a Smile<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When I share why<\/em> I care, others start to care too.
Marketing isn\u2019t manipulation – it\u2019s connection. And if you lead with honesty and heart, people listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feedback Isn\u2019t Failure – It\u2019s Friendship in Disguise<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Every confused customer, every kind critique – it all helped me grow.
Building a brand means staying open. Listening. Adjusting. And saying thank you (a lot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Running a Business Is Emotional Work<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just spreadsheets and shipping labels.
It\u2019s vulnerability, self-doubt, celebration, surprise. It\u2019s the deep work of staying aligned with your joy – even when the numbers don\u2019t line up yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Play Is a Superpower<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve built something that gives people permission to laugh when they need it most.
That\u2019s not silly. That\u2019s sacred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What I Hope You Take With You<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re building something from scratch\u2014especially something that feels equal parts joyful and messy\u2014I hope this post reminds you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep following the spark.
Keep learning.
Keep building something that lights you<\/em> up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joy is not just the result\u2014it\u2019s part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With love,
Heather Goff
Founder of Heather\u2019s Joy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heather\u2019s Joy is more than a studio – it\u2019s a way of creating, living, and sharing that begins with wonder and ends with connection. Whether through pottery, plush toys, websites, or words, I follow what lights me up – and build from there. My hope is that by sharing the process, it helps you find what lights you up too.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last 18 months, I\u2019ve gone from hand-thrown clay to plush toys, from late-night sketches to brand-building strategies.And through it all, I\u2019ve learned one thing loud and clear: joy is a compass. This post gathers the lessons, laughter, and quiet breakthroughs from building the Ploppals brand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative-entrepreneurship","category-reflections-from-the-studio"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/working-from-joy-building-Ploppals.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heathersjoy.com\/play\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}