Say Hello to the Collectors Circle

From a single handmade platter in Laura’s pottery studio, to a production team hand rolling clay, and eventually an internationally beloved brand with products in stores nationwide—It’s safe to say that Happy Everything! has truly transformed over the years.

As we have evolved, one thing has remained the same—our incredible collectors! We are constantly inspired by the passion and the unique style that our collectors bring to the brand, so we created the Collectors Circle to bring your stories and your collections front and center.

Each and every month, we will bring you one collector to share their insights into their style, their collection, and the why behind their love for Happy Everything!. Circle up, it’s going to be a good one!

Meet The Collector: Laura Johnson 

Why We Chose Laura 

How could we not begin our first edition of the Collectors Circle with the very first Happy Everything! collector—our very own Founding Artist & CEO. 

About Laura  

Laura Johnson is a wife, mother of three daughters, and the Founding Artist & CEO of the Coton Colors Company, the parent company of Happy Everything! Laura is a true creative and innovator at heart with an entrepreneurial mindset. She is an avid reader, host, and collector of {lots & lots of} cookbooks. Laura has been married to her husband, Milton, for over 35 years. They have a large family that is full of girls! Most all of Laura's family works within the Coton Colors Company. Whether it be creating imaginative and thoughtful products or connecting our passionate community of collectors, Laura is constantly seeking ways to spark enthusiasm to live a happy life.

Laura's Decorating Style in Three Words 

Relaxed, collected, personal.

For those who are new here, remind us what inspired you to start Happy Everything!?

I created the very first Happy Everything!™ Platter while designing in my pottery studio back in 2003. I don't really remember if I was stressing about decorating my home for an upcoming holiday or if I was simply surrounded by hundreds of seasonal platters I was painting, but an idea came to my mind. What if I could create a single platter that could be used to decorate for every holiday and special occasion? Something simple that would be quick and easy. I began sketching, then designing, then I jumped into the making.

I started by molding a large platter out of clay. Because I wanted a simple solution to decorating, I knew it would need to be a statement piece. It needed to be big, so I made it a courageous 16 inches in size. It needed to be bold, so I painted a graphic and colorful dot pattern on the Platter. I always think pottery in the home should be used as well as displayed, so it had to be functional as well.

I then had to figure out exactly how the Attachments could, well, attach, yet still be removable so that they could be easily changed on and off the platter. I didn't want to add more hassle to a product that was built to de-hassle. 

We thought of pegs, we thought of magnets, we thought of strings and then we landed on the surprisingly perfect thing, hook-and-loop fasteners. It worked! (whew)

And there it was... the original interchangeable concept was born. 

What's a funny story about Happy Everything! that collectors wouldn't know?

We used to hand-make every single piece, including rolling out clay and hand-cutting every shape. That was really difficult because it’s hard to roll clay consistently and hard to cut shapes consistently. I began to look for a way we could speed up production and make the whole process a little simpler.

Eventually I looked in the Yellow Pages {remember those!?} and found a company who made custom cookie cutters. It seemed silly but it was just the thing we really needed. I even had to send him drawings of our Attachment shapes by mail! But it worked, these oversized cookie cutters arrived at our studio and soon, we were cutting out our early Attachments like giant shaped cookies.

It's funny thinking back now but it was such a life saver then. We still have a few of those original cookie cutters and you can find them on display at our Tampa Flagship Store!

Do you have a current favorite combo (Attachment + Base) you’re loving right now?

I love our new pink color palette, especially the Pink Platter. I often have virtual meetings with a crew member that I work closely with and she has the Pink Platter with the Pot of Tulips Attachment behind her in her home office. Every time I see it, it just makes me happy. I feel like it brings that little pop of color to my day.

The Pink Nesting Cubes are also being used in a few unexpected décor moments, which I love. It's been fun for me to see the different ways our collectors incorporate the Nesting Cubes into their homes and the Attachments they pick to compliment the pink.

Where in your home (or office?) do you display your collection the most?

Always in my kitchen.

I have a Big Platter on the counter next to my back door. Now, I do have other Bases sprinkled throughout my home, but as far as the one that’s always on display, it’s sitting right in my view as I walk in and out the back door.

What’s your favorite unexpected way that you’ve used a Base or Attachment?

Good question!

I think probably using the Nesting Cubes as table décor with florals or plants in them.

I don’t know if that’s really an unexpected décor choice because I think the Mini Nesting Cubes are designed to kind of be catch-alls that hold a lot of different things. But I think the size differentiation, since there are two different ones, lends itself very naturally to a really fun tablescape. It holds flowers or plants really easily, and it’s low, so it doesn’t intrude on conversation across the table.

I think that’s what I find myself most drawn to—the Nesting Cubes down the center of a table in various different sizes. I think that’s fun and super easy.

How do you incorporate your Happy Everything! collection into hosting or entertaining?

Usually from start to finish.

We always do appetizers on our Serving Boards with a few of our Embellishment Bowls. That’s the easiest go-to ever because you can serve a lot of things there.

Last year for Thanksgiving, I did a candy board, so it ended up being served at the end of the evening instead of the beginning of the evening {although the kids wanted it served at the beginning!}

I like to incorporate my collection throughout the serving as well, so you can have little sprinkles of happy all the way through the party. From a Champagne Icon at the drinks table to Embellishment Appetizer Spreaders at the buffet, I want my guests to have those moments of happy throughout every part of the evening.

I love to end the evening with our little Embellishment Bowls. They are adorable to serve ice cream in and just add a little happy at the end. So it’s kind of fun to entertain all the way through a party with Happy Everything!.

I also like to sprinkle my collection throughout the house, not just around the food and drinks. Sometimes I put a Mini Soap Pump Base in my powder room or a Big Bowl with flowers at the entry. You don’t use it just in your serving spread! I find you can get really adventuresome with it and place little happy moments everywhere.

Do you have any family traditions that include your Happy Everything! pieces? What's your family's favorite "tradition" you do that includes Happy Everything!?

Always Christmas.

Happy Everything! is a major part of our Christmas décor all throughout the house.

I collect a lot of our Shaped Ornaments, so we always have those on our tree.

My husband’s birthday is three days before Christmas, and we always do a pizza party because it’s a fun night before all the heaviness of the holiday food.

We often gift a Happy Everything! Shaped Ornament as a party favor, and it’s fun to see our guests' collections grow over time.

I also love giving Bases and Attachments to help grow my friends' and family members' collections. That’s always meaningful to me.

What advice would you give a new collector?

Don’t overthink it. Dive in.

Happy Everything! is so fun to collect, and for people gifting starter collections for other people, it’s the perfect gift idea for pretty much anyone because you always know what to give them next {More Attachments!} That was the whole concept.

As far as starting your own collection, don’t get stuck on one size. Whether you start with Big or Mini, don’t be opposed to sprinkling in various sizes because you’ll find places where the Big works perfectly, and you’ll also find places to tuck in the Mini pieces around your home too.

Just jump in, see what speaks to you most, and have fun.

What’s your favorite memory connected to the brand or your collection?

When we started Happy Everything!, my kids were probably in middle school, and yes, they changed the Attachment and had fun doing that. But now I’m seeing it through the younger generation. My granddaughter is two and a half, and I’m so inspired by how much she loves to change the Attachments and how quickly she got the concept. Watching her experience that joy and being able to choose the Attachments and decide which ones are her favorites has been really special.

It’s fun to see that even at two and a half, she understands what to do and knows exactly what’s happening, especially as the seasons change. It’s been really fun to enjoy that together with her.

Is there a piece that feels especially meaningful or sentimental to you? 

Probably the original, the Bright Dot Big Happy Everything! Round Platter, because it was more than just an idea come to life {as amazing as that is!} but it was also a collaboration with my mom.

Back then I had a pottery studio. My mother loaded the kilns for me, and she was my number one design advisor—and still is.

Making pottery is such an involved process. You draw the design, paint three coats, glaze it, fire it, hope it doesn’t break, then fire it again. So everything I created was very personal to me, very hands-on.

When I was finally finished with the prototype, I showed it to mom. At the time it said “Merry Everything” on the plate.

She looked at it and immediately said, “It needs to say Happy Everything!,” and walked out of the room.

I remember thinking, “Darn it, she’s right.”

So I had to go back through the whole process before bringing it to market, but it was absolutely the right move. That piece will always hold a special place in my heart.

In slightly more recent recollection, launching our Mini sizes for the first time is such a sentimental memory. We were terrified to do a smaller size at a smaller price point, but we had so much fun with launching it.

We treated it like adding a new baby. We had a full nursery setup in the showroom, everyone wore scrubs, and we celebrated the “birth” of our Mini line. That was really fun.

Is there an Attachment or product you’ve always dreamed of creating?

I love anything that has additional elements attached to it.

I loved adding rope to the Lakelife Attachments, the glow-in-the-dark paint to the Frankenstein Attachments, and the satin ribbon on our Unicorn Attachments.

Anything unexpected really excites me.

One thing we desperately tried to create was a real paper piñata Attachment. Believe it or not, it was harder than it seemed because we couldn’t find the right sourcing for it. I've always been a little disappointed that we were never able to make it work.

I love anything that branches outside traditional pottery. I think there’s a lot of fun opportunity there.

What is your favorite part about our Collector Community?

I absolutely adore hearing people talk about their collections.

I was literally at the dentist earlier today, and the dental assistants started telling me stories about their collections—what they have, where they display it, what they want next.

Hearing the joy it brings people is probably the most inspiring thing for me.

I always say I have too many ideas and will never be able to produce all of them, but the collectors themselves inspire me the most.

What has surprised you most about your collectors over the years?

Probably how long people have continued collecting it and how it evolves through generations.

I met one woman whose mother had passed away, and she inherited her mother’s collection. She talked about how cherished those pieces were to her and how meaningful it was to continue the collection within her own family. That was really special to hear.

What would be your all-time favorite icon in Happy Everything! that you find yourself just always loving and reaching for?

Interesting. Let me think about that one. It does sort of feel like I'm picking my favorite child!

I'll lean into that and say my favorite is our Flying Stork Attachment because if it's on display then I know the very best celebration in life is happening, the birth of a new little one.

What do you find yourself gifting the most?

Our Big and Mini Vases are always a wonderful gift because you can fill them with flowers and people can continue using them and remember the occasion long after the flowers fade, and who they received it from!

I also love gifting the Mini Serving Boards because you can pair them with food or treats, but afterward they still have something lasting they can use again.

That’s what I love most about Happy Everything!—it's a happy little way to celebrate big moments, milestones, and everything in between!

What excites you most about what’s coming next? What is inspiring you at the moment?

I’m really excited about adding more dimensional details and accessories onto Attachments—little touches that bring even more personality to them and create unexpected décor moments.

I’m also really loving the expansion of POPSHOP products like cups, napkins, and party accessories.

Seeing those beloved icons show up in everyday moments beyond décor has been really fun.

Watching kids run around with themed holiday cups or seeing those icons used in different ways has been exciting. It’s spreading happy beyond just decorative pieces, and I really love that direction for the brand.