Blunt.
Creative
Pot Yer Tits Away Luv
When Emma sculpted her first ever tit pot as a present to her boyfriend last Christmas, she had no idea that a year later she would be making a living out of them.
Emma recently hit 10k followers on her Instagram account, “pot yer tits away luv”, dedicated to her hand-made masterpieces. But unfortunately that amount of following doesn’t come without its downside. The Edinburgh born artist was left stunned when she realised someone she knew was helping a friend copy her tit pots and selling them. When telling me about the one time she went to Newcastle and got into an altercation with an angry Geordie lady over some cake and napkins, I could tell she doesn’t take shit. The imposter Instagram account was deleted after her bids to followers to report it. She currently lives in Leeds with her boyfriend, a photographer and grumpy-faced cat, Lady. She makes the pots in her spare bedroom.
FO: What gave you the idea to start up your own pottery business selling tit pots?
EL: I started last Christmas when I made a pot for my boyfriend. One of his friends liked it and I realised there wasn’t anyone I knew creating custom made tit pots. So I enrolled in a 10-week night class to learn the basics.
FO: When did you decide to make it into a business?
EL: It hadn’t really crossed my mind until summer that I could do it. When I moved back to my mum’s house I was talking to her saying I need to make this many pots a week to be able to afford to survive, for example, paying the rent, bills, food and cat food. My mum was like “well you’re nearly hitting that point now, maybe if you weren’t working as well you’d be able to put more time into it”. And then when I was heading back to Leeds my old job wasn’t available but the role beneath was and so they asked if I wanted to interview for it and I said “yes” immediately. But then I thought about it and realised I really didn’t want to do it. So I decided to call them up and say ‘I’m not going to come in for the interview’. Then I remember saying to my mum, “I’m going to do it!” thinking she would be really angry at me for losing out on my money and she was like “just fuck it, this is your opportunity to do something else, so why not just take it.”
FO: Did you find it daunting?
EL: Everybody’s been really supportive. I have a very supportive boyfriend who said, “if it doesn’t work out I earn enough money I can support us whilst you nd another job”, so it just felt like the right time. So, yes and no, it didn’t seem daunting but everything’s daunting. It was a very organic and slow process. It wasn’t like I just started the business and was just like “fuck it, I’m just going to throw caution to the wind.” I believed in myself this was going to work. It was like “ok, baby steps, I’m going to do this in the evening”. Then eventually I realised I can actually do this now. And now it’s like “Oh My God, I almost wish it wasn’t going so fast!” I want it to be the best it possibly can be and right now I feel like it’s on the brink of it not being as amazing as it possibly can be because I’m just so overworked with it.
FO: How important is it to you to have each one handcrafted and different?
EL: It’s very important to have each one handcrafted. I want it to be as like the real deal as possible. No one is perfect and that’s the exact outcome you get from handcrafting things: imperfect perfection. I want a brand that is inclusive so I don’t set the boundaries, my customers do.
FO: What is the point you are trying to make by the pots?
EL: So I’ve not really seen that many boobs apart from people in my family, like my mum. I am the only girl in my family apart from my mum, it’s just me and my brother and so obviously my brother doesn’t have any boobs so I didn’t get that when I was growing up. Apart from my mum and my close friends, a few women at the gym and models that you see in the magazines, which are usually a certain type of boob, I’ve never really seen real women’s boobs. So it was really exciting when people started sending me pictures of their boobs, because there are so many variations. Oh My God it’s mad; I don’t think a single pair has been the same in anyway shape or form. It’s like our face, isn’t it? You can have similarities, but most of the time your face won’t be exactly the same as anyone else’s.
The nice thing about doing it in pottery is that there is no censorship so I can be expressive and show the variety of different breasts that there are without being explicit. Instagram would probably come along and take photos down if I was taking photographs of the women. I can make their boobs and liberate them completely anonymously by doing this, which is really nice.
FO: There’s an element of humour in your work and your brand, do you think that’s important?
EL: Hugely! I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my sense of humour and if I didn’t laugh all day I would 100% be crying. I don’t think everything in life should be taken so seriously. I’m quite possibly the most unprofessional businessperson ever, but that’s what makes it work.
FO: Why did you decide to name your business ‘pot yer tits away luv’?
EL: I think the fact I use my wit to get me through a lot of awkward misogynistic situations. I wanted something that not only was humorous but also touched on the society we live in today. It came to me really quickly and I ran it by a few people I trust and they loved it so here we are! I think some people don’t get it and I think some people maybe take it the wrong way. But the people that do get it are the majority of people and it works, so I’m happy with it.
FO: Do you get a lot of women sending you photos of their boobs?
EL: Yeah, I used to. People now want me to do more specific things so they’ll send me stuff like their tattoos or they’ll draw me a picture of their freckles or moles, wherever they are on their bodies or if they have a birthmark or just a particular colour of skin. It can go from a full frontal tit shot, to a tiny, tiny bit of someone’s skin. But what’s amazing to me is that these people are so trusting with that information.
When I first started doing it I decided I didn’t want to be the face of the brand, like I didn’t want to put anything personal on the Instagram or have much about me because it wasn’t supposed to be about me. But then it got to the point where it was like “people are going to send me photos and they’re not going to know who I am and I don’t think there’s going to be the personal connection that there needs to be.” Otherwise, I could be anyone, for example, I could just be some random old pervy man that’s making tit pots. I think people would feel totally different about sending photos to him than they would to me. Obviously when people do send me photos it’s literally for my eyes only. I am the only person that sees it and the majority of the time after I’ve made the pots I’ll delete the photos just because I have no need to have them. But, yeah, a lot of people have sent me them, more so after I came out as the person who is behind the brand, maybe because they now know who I am.
FO: What’s your opinion on fake boobs?
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EL: I think you should just do whatever you like with your own body, fuck what everyone else thinks. If you’re happy with your fake tits, you go on with that.​
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When I was younger, around 21, I wanted to get my lips done. I was really self-conscious of my lips for some reason. I think it’s because my best friend has these ginormous ones, which were natural and gorgeous. I just wanted to get them evened out. I asked my mum for my 21st birthday and she was like “no absolutely not, don’t be so ridiculous”, and then this Summer I went and got them done. I then had loads of girls messaging me like, “oh I really
want to get them done, do you think it’s worth the money” and some of these girls had huge lips and I was just like, “you don’t need to get it done, you should just be happy with yourself.” But then that’s so hypocritical for me to say that, because people would probably look at me and say the same. So yeah, I just think you should be able to do whatever you like with your body and as long as you’re not putting yourself or anyone else at risk in doing so, and going to somewhere qualified, then yeah, I think it’s liberating in a way because it’s almost like you are taking control of your own look.
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FO: You also sell pots with bloody knickers, bikini pots and willy ring holders, what is the point you are trying to make with them?
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EL: The bloody knickers are to raise awareness and funds for my good friends The Monthly Gift MCR and also because I’m sick of being forced to feel embarrassed about something natural. The willy ring holders I make ‘cause I want men to feel useful.