Meet the Maker: The Story Behind Lil' Ditti's

Hey there, I'm Aditi — but most people who know me well call me Ditti, hence Lil' Ditti's.

(My partner came up with the business name, it stuck, and honestly? It felt like the perfect name for my little handmade business with a lot of heart.)

Welcome to Lil' Ditti's — my tiny corner of the internet where polymer clay, pop culture, and a whole lot of love collide (is this coming off as super corny yet? coz it feels super corny)

So, how did this all start?

Like a lot of creative businesses, Lil' Ditti's began as a lockdown hobby that quietly refused to stay small. I'd always been drawn to making things with my hands, and when I discovered polymer clay, something just clicked. There's something almost meditative about working with clay...the way you can take a raw block of what is essentially play dough with extra steps...and turn it into something colourful, detailed, and completely one-of-a-kind.

What started as making pieces for myself because I didn't find what I wanted out and about in the market scene, quickly turned into people asking "wait, can I have one of those?" and before I knew it, I was setting up a little shop and figuring out what it meant to be a maker (and all of the other roles and admin related hats that come with it).

Everything is handmade; and I mean everything

Every single piece that leaves my lil home office studio is made by my own two hands, right here in Melbourne. I don't just make the jewellery, I also design and 3d print my own clay cutters, which means a lot of the shapes and designs you see in my shop are truly original. No two batches are ever exactly alike, and I think that's kind of the whole point.

The handmade process is slow, intentional, and deeply personal. Each piece goes through hours long processes starting with conditioning, then cutting and shaping, detailing, curing, sanding, and finishing with either polyurethane or resin, and I'm there for every single step. When you wear something from Lil' Ditti's, you're wearing something that had real human hands (and probably some cat hair I'm so sorry) involved at every stage.

With that said, I would be remiss to not mention that the epoxy keychains I have in my shop are outsourced to Vograce for production, they are still designed by me and I do all the final QC and packaging myself. Some day perhaps when I have a big ol' garage studio that has adequate ventilation and appropriate cat proofing those will be made in house too, but for now it just isn't feasible for me to cut acrylic and then epoxy coat everything here. 

Keeping it local 🌿

One of the things I'm most proud of is the community I've built around this little business. I work with and source from other local Australian small businesses wherever I can, because I know firsthand how much it means when someone chooses to support a small maker over a big retailer.

From the materials I use to the collaborations I take on, I'm always looking for ways to keep things local, sustainable, and community-driven. We're stronger when we lift each other up, and I genuinely love being part of a network of Australian makers and creatives who feel the same way.

The absolute best thing that has come out of me running this small business has been the friends I've made along the way. There's a tab on my website with a few of them highlighted [small biz buddies] as well as a list of the businesses I get supplies from over in the FAQ tab :)

A little bit about me

I'm a queer, POC artist based in Melbourne, born in India, raised in Indonesia and Singapore... and those parts of my identity absolutely show up in my work, in the colours I'm drawn to, the communities I create for, and the way I run my business. Lil' Ditti's is a space where everyone is welcome, no questions asked, arms open wide.

I make things that bring me joy, and I hope they bring you joy too.

What's next?

This blog is going to be a space where I share behind-the-scenes peeks at my process, new collection launches, collabs with other small businesses, and the occasional ramble about life as a maker. Stick around, I think it's going to be fun and full of colour.

Thanks for being here at the very beginning. It means more than you know.

With love, sparkles and clay dust,
Ditti 💜👾