An Interview with Bryana Mariko Manzano-Balilio
Army spouse and Polymer Clay Artist Bryana Mariko Manzano-Balilio reminds us that creating should always stay true to what brings us joy, and it is something that moves with us and grows with us through all the PCSes and beyond active-duty family life.
MilspoFAN: Tell us a little about yourself, your journey as a military spouse, and where you are today.
Bryana: Growing up on the small island of Oahu, Hawaii, I would never have thought I’d see all the places I’ve seen.
My husband and I were both born and raised in Hawaii and graduated from the same high school. My husband joined the Army in 2014 and was stationed in Germany, where I would later join him in 2016. I quit my job, left my close-knit family, and flew across the world. Germany is where we added 2 Australian Shepherd Labradors to our family. We were able to enjoy our travels around Europe and the UK before PCSing to Okinawa, Japan at the end of 2017, where we would later have our firstborn. As much as I loved traveling the world in Europe, Okinawa will also have my heart. The culture, the food, and the people; I miss it every day! We are now currently stationed in Minnesota until the summer of 2024.
Unfortunately, COVID hit our last year in Oki, but this is also where my clay journey began.
MilspoFAN: Have you always liked doing visual arts and what drew you to polymer clay?
Bryana: I have always loved every and any craft! I’m not quite sure what exactly triggered that, but it was also so fun for me! When COVID hit in 2019, we were in Okinawa with VERY strict rules which led to so many of us needing to find outlets! During this time, I ended up joining a friend selling nail strips where she then thought of the idea of trying to make clay earrings to boost our sales. It was then I started to remember my love for crafting and decided to stop selling nail strips and pursue clay earrings with my spare time.
Living on a small foreign island was a challenge, especially during COVID. Craft supplies were very limited, so that meant a lot of online ordering, which was more expensive and took forever to arrive, but having a hobby again felt so good! Being a first-time mom, you definitely have to adjust and find yourself again, and sharing my craft with others did that for me!
MilspoFAN: How do you meet other artists or plug into the local arts scene when you PCS?
Bryana: I didn’t truly go full force into my clay business until I moved to Minnesota. At this point, places were still COVID cautious, but things started to open up again.
Unfortunately, in Minnesota, my husband is on special duty as a recruiter, which means we aren't attached to an active duty base anymore. This was a big change for me as I was no longer constantly around other military spouses or living on base; I got really lonely to be honest, but it made me focus on expanding my business and becoming more serious about it! I’ve connected with so many other artists through my Facebook page, from friends I’ve met in both Germany and Okinawa who are always sharing my business and inviting people to my page. And I love that so many of them are military spouses too, since there are not many of them here. It’s kind of funny because a lot of the other military spouses I have met who also have their own businesses, I’ve never met in person, but I actually do consider them friends now! It’s nice to have people who can relate to you in both aspects.
Craft fairs are another way I was able to connect with local crafters. Not only do I love shopping at craft fairs, but I also love selling at them! I would consider myself an introvert, but I absolutely love participating at craft fairs. I get to share my work and I get to meet people with similar interests through the styles and themes of my earrings.
MilspoFAN: What’s next for you?
Bryana: Hmm…What’s next for me? That’s a tough one. I always feel like I have so many plans, but being a mom with 2 toddlers gets a lot of those plans postponed A LOT. I only work late at night when everyone is sleeping, so I’m always in a time crunch, lol.
My husband will be ending his military journey this summer, and we’re still in the process of figuring out where we’ll go next. I do have plans to expand my craft to more than just earrings and one big goal of mine is to become better at my social media presence, hoping to work on that once we're settled.
MilspoFAN: What is the most practical piece of advice that you would give to other artists?
Bryana: My biggest advice to other artists is that you don’t need to make money to enjoy a craft! If making something truly makes you happy, that’s validation enough. When you have a business, it’s in our nature to compare ourselves to other crafters. It’s good for motivation and ideas, but I think crafting is mostly fun if it helps your mental health! There are things that I craft that make little to no sales, but I’m okay with that because it was fun to do, and I think that’s what matters!
You can find Bryana online at:
Instagram: @Piecebypiececlaycreations
Facebook: Public Business Page : Piece by Piece - Clay Creations
Private group page: Piece by Piece - Clay Creations (Exclusive Ears Only)