Our Story
Terra Cotta Pendants is a family business born in the summer of 2003. How did a Calligrapher, an Artist/Jack-of-all-Trades and their two teenage children come to be making wearable, clay essential oil diffusers? Here's their story!
It started with a question: how could they put the children through university and at the same time provide them with work so they could earn the money themselves? The answer was right under Lori's nose :-) for quite some time before she saw it. It came from an experience she had while teaching essential oil Workshops.
At the Workshops she taught about the many ways to use essential oils. When she outlined the benefits of diffusing and inhaling the oils, she showed the piece of clay she had tied around her neck with a piece of leather cord. She explained how, with this wearable diffuser, they could have their favorite essential oils diffusing into their breathing space wherever they went, throughout the day. They were entranced! As a body they leaned forward, asking where they could get one.
This happened again and again at the workshops. She realized pendant diffusers were the perfect accessory to essential oils as they gave people an inexpensive and effective way to begin using essential oils right away!
It was early in June 2003 when they decided they would make wearable clay diffusers.
Alex made the first web site that summer. He was fourteen at the time. He had been improving, updating and
maintaining the site since then.He also enjoyed making Apps for the
iPod Touch/iPhone. See them here. He graduated from University [Mechanical Engineering] in the spring of 2012 and was planning to do his Masters that fall.
Sadly, we lost Alex when he died in an accident on August 17, 2012.
Natasha designed three of the popular Terra Cotta Pendant designs: Blessed, Moon Goddess and WWJD. While she was in her undergrad degree she designed a special pendant for Shinerama which was used as a fundraiser for the post secondary school efforts on behalf of Cystic Fibrosis. She is working on her PhD in clinical psychology at Ottawa University!
Auguste is the artist / clay man/ creator of the pendants. He is meticulous in his handling of the clay and has developed trade-secret methods of creating the pendants, minimizing waste and improving output. Every clay piece is care-fully, crafted by his hands.
Lori is the one you talk to when you call! She still does calligraphy - you'll see it on your packages! She loves meeting people, connecting with customer/friends all over the world.In November of 2010 she started a blog, Life, for instance, to keep in touch in a more meaningful way! Terra Cotta Pendants is an experience that became much more than it was ever conceived to be!
That's our story. We hope you enjoy your Terra Cotta Pendants. We love to hear your suggestions and comments. We deeply appreciate your feedback, support and the blessings that you send.