Category: Animal Welfare / Eco-Friendly Living
There is a particular kind of person who cannot walk past an animal in need. Not because they feel obligated to stop, but because looking away was never really an option. Elly Butler is that kind of person.
Originally from Sydney, Australia, with Turkish roots, Elly has been an advocate for animals her entire life. Long before she built a business, long before she found her footing in St. Louis, Missouri, caring for animals was simply part of how she moved through the world.
Her household reflects that. Dante, her Yorkie, has been by her side through some of her hardest years. Tulum, a stray cat who began joining Elly and Dante on their daily walks, eventually found his way into their home permanently. With him came Nox, a feral companion who took three months of patient, careful behavioural work before she felt settled and safe. Elly does not romanticise this. She knows that feral cats are widely misunderstood, written off before anyone takes the time to understand them. She also knows they are some of the most resilient and extraordinary animals she has ever known.
Her concern for animals extends beyond the ones under her roof. She is deeply eco-conscious, a value that runs through every decision she makes — from the materials she chooses to work with, to the products she creates and sells. For Elly, sustainability is not a marketing angle. It is a baseline.
That same care informs her creative work. Elly is the founder and designer of LushClayCo, a polymer clay cutter brand rooted in Ottoman and Turkish artistic heritage. Every design is drawn by hand, tested in clay, and built to a standard she would not compromise on. The studio is how she funds her advocacy work and her life with her animals. When someone buys a cutter, subscribes to her Patreon, or shares her work, they are contributing to something that goes beyond a transaction.
For Elly, the design work and the animal welfare work are not separate things. They come from the same place — a refusal to settle for less than what she believes something deserves, whether that is a cutter design, an eco-friendly material, or a feral cat who needed someone to show up for her.
You can explore her work at lushclayco.com.