About me
Hi, I'm Penelope, the sentient yellow duck plushie behind Clammy Heart! I'm an Aries lesbian artist originally from Iowa, now living in Portland, Oregon. I began Clammy Heart in 2017 after leaving Kansas City Art Institute's Fiber department. I have a background in garment construction, surface design, and fiber dyeing. I purchased a tiny embroidery machine to start making my own patches, and the rest was history!
As you might have gathered from the above photos, my pets are a big part of my life. When I'm not working on Clammy Heart or playing with them, I love reading fiction novels, playing Animal Crossing, interior design, listening to podcasts, antique shopping, gardening, and hiking with my partner Carmen.
About the brand
Clammy Heart was founded in 2017, with just one small sewing/embroidery combination machine and a Storenvy store. After 100 sales, operations moved to Etsy, then nearly 2,000 sales later, our own storefront opened in September 2019. Now we are proud to say we've shipped out over 16,000 orders to 44 countries!
Everything at Clammy Heart is embroidered in-house in our Portland studio. We have 2 multi-needle and 2 single needle machines, and a team of three that works very hard to create our apparel, package, and fulfill orders ourselves with love and care.
The work we create focuses on the simple joys that make life a little happier. Animals, fruits & vegetables, flowers & nature motifs; all with dollops of playful nostalgia. You'll find us making apparel that's casual, colorful, and usually perfectly cottagecore. We feel that sustainability is crucial; read about that here!
I have a huge interest in mutual aid and distributing resources. Clammy Heart has donated over $10,000 to charities since its founding. Most recently, we raised $1,755 for Anera to support Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Other charities include Black Lives Matter Global Network, Reclaim the Block, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, and WIRES Australia. In January 2021, we began a Black-owned Small Business Fund that gave $300 grants to 7 artisanal businesses. It was an absolute joy to facilitate and I look forward to doing this again in the future.
Clammy Heart strictly employs folks from marginalized groups. Trans/LGBTQ+ issues in particular are hugely important to us as a company.
You can now find us sold locally in Portland at Zuckercreme! Thank you for reading and supporting Clammy Heart!