On Comfort, Creativity And Cloth Pads: Designer Kay of Moody V
As we reflect on our Spring Season, we’re touching base with a few of our vendors. Today, we’re chatting with Kay of Moody V about sustainability, creative menstrual care and seeking comfort.
Photo courtesy of Moody V
ABOUT KAY & MOODY V
I’m Kay, the pad-maker! I’m a heart-eyed advocate for cloth pads because I seriously believe in them. They’re the tote to the plastic bag. They’re the reusable water bottles to the single use disposable bottles. In other words, they’re the way-cooler alternative to not-cool products we’ve grown accustomed to. Not to mention, they’re so DANG comfortable.
What are you hoping to nurture through your work in 2022?
In 2022, I'm gonna continue to nurture the things that matter most to me through my work: inclusivity, sustainability, and kindness. I care about making my work accessible and welcoming to all who come across it. I really like joking around and chatting with sweet people on instagram and at markets about their experiences around periods, their opinion on how Michael Buble eats corn, and everything in between.
Who are your biggest inspirations in Texas?
My biggest inspirations in Texas are people who very obviously put love into their work. A few good ones are: @peacecheese_, @squiggle.tats, @sunshinedimension, @dellwooddesigns, @thelittlegayshop. Can I also say my chihuahua-pug, Tiny? He does live in Texas and he is truly an inspiration.
What does creative collaboration mean to you?
I value creative collaboration as a way for people who have different abilities, backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets to make something that couldn't have been made without each collaborator. Yeah, Thomas can sew. Uh huh, Mary can really go to town on a printing press. Sure, Antoni knows how to market the living shell out of anything on instagram. Together.... they can make something so full of meaning and beauty that we all cry when we look at it.
How do you make space in your life to creatively recharge? Any tips or routines?
I listen to the SAME comfort audiobooks and watch the SAME comfort movies over and over. My partner assures me that he doesn't mind watching them all the time... but I do not watch them as much as I would if I was left to my own devices. Sometimes when I get really stressed about work, I like to think about being a tiny little guy on a little spherical rock, spinning in an unknowably vast universe, and then I just have a handful of cheez-its or something and stop freaking out so much.
How do you approach building community around your work?
I get on the good old 'gram and post lots and lots of interactive stories. Sometimes I will make an interactive story that is related to my actual products, but usually I want to talk about pasta, Squidward, chickens, etc. It gives me an opportunity to have fun, connect with my customers and other creatives, and it adds a little spice to the instagram page that could just be about one thing all the time.
What's the one recommendation you'd make to someone new starting out as an independent creative or small business owner?
I think you should share who you are alongside your work. I still love making cloth pads after four-ish years of doing it all the time, and it's because I've made it into something that has the heart and intention that I dreamed about when I first started out. I also really fall in love with someone else's work when I can find their heart in it.
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