REXBURG—Chloe Laney brings whimsical, wearable art to life through Oddly Carved.
A frog with butterfly wings and a snake wearing a cowboy hat are a couple of the designs Laney creates through her small business, Oddly Carved. Through hand-carved prints, Laney turns clothing and accessories into opportunities to make everyday life a little more playful.
The owner and founder uses linoleum blocks to create her designs, carving each one by hand before applying ink and stamping it onto fabric or paper. Her products include shirts, pants, vests, prints and iron-on patches.
For Laney, the business is about bringing a sense of fun to a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming.
“So, it’s like I just want to bring something into the world that’s just fun,” Laney said. “Like it doesn’t have to be serious; it’s just a little silly, and that’s just my goal.”
Oddly Carved began after a school assignment challenged Laney to upcycle something. She decorated a pair of pants she no longer wore with colorful little houses and listed them on Vinted, an online platform for selling clothing. They sold in about 30 minutes, helping her recognize that her hobby could become a business.
Since then, Laney has developed a whimsical style that embraces unusual combinations and imperfections. Frogs, her favorite animals, play a prominent role in her designs.
Her creative process begins with drawing a design on tracing paper and transferring it onto a carving block. After outlining and carving the image, she rolls ink onto the surface and presses it onto the selected material. A detailed carving can take about 45 minutes and printed fabric needs about four days to dry.
Sharing those creations with customers has also meant learning to work through uncertainty. Laney initially questioned whether shoppers would like the cowboy-hat snake she designed for her husband. When she offered it on patches at a market, she nearly sold out.
“So, I think the biggest thing for me is just try a couple of them in a small setting, put it out there, and then I know because I can overthink all I want,” Laney said.
As a college student running the business alone, Laney balances designing, producing merchandise and managing social media. She said offering her creative work to others can feel vulnerable, but customers’ enthusiastic reactions make the effort worthwhile.
Moving forward, she hopes to expand her Etsy presence and develop bandanas and tote bags. Customers can find her work on Etsy and her Instagram page, oddlycarved, or visit her booth at the Hangar Vintage Market, where she participates almost every month.
For other artists hesitant to share their work, Laney encourages starting small and asking their support system for help.
“You never know if you don’t try,” Laney said.