CeramicsByCarly: Handmade Mugs that Will Help You Embrace Your Vagina

By Gabby Houck

Carly Shoffstall is tired of hearing that women hate their vaginas. That’s why the 23-year-old nursing student at the Community College of Philadelphia has taken her love of ceramics and turned it into a business. She sells handcrafted mugs with labia art so your morning coffee can come with a dash of feminism and self-love.

Shoffstall’s genius side hustle is called “CeramicsByCarly” and you can find her new small business on Etsy or Instagram.

For Shoffstall, the idea for vulva mugs came naturally.

“The thing I love most in the world is vagina. So, it only made sense that I should put a vagina on a mug,” Shoffstall said. “They’re all different and they’re amazing, so I want to make as many variations as possible.”

Some of the variations can even include your own vagina, which upon special request Shoffstall can make if you want to give your S/O a belated Valentine's Day gift. Or you can keep it for yourself and simply marvel at your own vagina––your choice.

Before Shoffstall started making the mugs, she brought the idea to her friends, and she was disheartened by their responses.

“They’d tell me that they hate their vaginas and that they’d never want it on a mug,” she said. “That’s awful, everyone should love their vagina.”

Refinery29 conducted a survey asking readers about their vulvas and vaginas and got over 3,000 responses. The response was alarming––48 percent of women surveyed had concerns about the appearance of their vagina.

One mug at a time, Shoffstall is combating one of the largest forms of gender oppression that women face––vagina shaming.

“The whole concept of having a ‘busted pussy’ is, first of all, just not true,” Shoffstall said. “You can’t tell how many sexual partners a woman has had by just looking at her vagina.”

Shoffstall continued, by pointing out that men never have to deal with genital scrutiny.

“You never look at a penis and go, ‘oh look at that dick, it’s so ugly and he’s probably slept with so many people,’” Shoffstall said. “Women already face so much stigma about their bodies in general, and to think that something is wrong with the vagina that they were born with is ridiculous.”

Unfortunately, these gross misconceptions have crept into the minds of an increasing number of women who turn to procedures like labiaplasty. In 2016, there was a 39 percent spike in the number of labiaplasties, which totaled over 12,000 procedures, according to Health.com.

Labiaplasty is a plastic surgery procedure that alters the labia minora and the labia majora. Ironically enough, labiaplasty removes erotically sensitive tissue. So the picture-perfect vagina women think they should have isn’t so perfect after all.

Even though some of Shoffstall's friends said they’d never want to see their vaginas on a mug, she’s still managed to sell some of her creations, and she’s had nothing but unwavering support in the process.

“My family is very supportive of everything they do all the time, and my partner helps me run my Etsy page,” Shoffstall said.

As for seeing her mugs put to use, Shofstall said there’s no better feeling.

“It’s incredible, one of the people I sold a mug to posted a video of their girlfriend drinking out of it and it was amazing to see,” Shoftstall said.

Shoffstall hopes that her mugs will help more women see their vagina as art, and not something to apologize for.

“I want to show people that every vagina is beautiful and different,” Shoffstall said. “I want them to know that their vagina can go on a mug and it’s not embarrassing or ugly.”

If you’re interested in getting your very own vulva mug from CeramicsByCarly your prayers have been answered. Just visit her Etsy shop and enter the promo code VULVA for 15 percent off.