Founder Spotlight With Elizabeth Hudy, The Peach Fuzz
Photo Credit: The Peach Fuzz
Elizabeth Hudy is the Founder of The Peach Fuzz. This San Francisco-based brand aims to make activism accessible and enjoyable by offering vibrant and creative ways to raise awareness and participate in social movements, starting with something as simple as a sticker on your water bottle. With a focus on issues such as homophobia, racism, sexism, climate change, mental health, and politics, Elizabeth combines art and activism to create a playful and optimistic approach that invites others to join the cause.
Our interview with Elizabeth was about as real as it gets. Elizabeth is true to her brand, which includes brutal yet refreshing honesty. This is reflected in her work not only as the Founder of The Peach Fuzz but also for the small business community. She gives all the fucks and also gives back big time!
Let’s jump right in!
What inspired The Peach Fuzz and how did you get started?
Elizabeth: I have always wanted to be independently wealthy and own my own home but going to school for art didn’t seem like it would get me there. So instead, I went to school for tax accounting.
When I was studying for my CPA exams, I needed a creative outlet. I also wanted to raise money for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, so I started making and selling my art.
I think I’m pretty funny, so I would doodle, incorporate my unfiltered perspective and wordplay into my designs, and then upload those to on-demand sites. Then I would promote them on Instagram and the sales went from $10 per month to payouts of $400 a month, which is a nice chunk of change. Last year, we donated $27,000 to charity, and this year, I'm hoping to donate $40,000. So that's been cool.
Fast forward to the pandemic and I got let go from my accounting job. The climate was perfect since many people were shopping small and supporting social causes.
I eventually started sharing small business resources with others in the community as I was learning myself along the way. It makes my own failures feel a bit more worth it.
That’s the origin story behind The Peach Fuzz, which also contributed to my partner and I being able to buy your first house this year.
What does your creative process look like when working on a new product or design?
Elizabeth: I have a list on my phone that I use as a brain dump of anything that’s sort of clever. Although most of my designs are by accident. For example, I met someone this weekend that had a sweatshirt on that said “Bay Area” but out of the corner of my eye I thought it said “Gay Area.” So that's a new design that I want to create.
Most of the time it’s not linear. People usually think that going from an idea to a finished product is a straight line. But a lot of my designs I'll start, and then I don't end up liking it, I'll abandon it, and then I'll come back to it.
What is one challenge you have faced as the Founder of The Peach Fuzz?
Elizabeth: One challenge that I’m still currently working through is expanding beyond myself in terms of workload. I'm a Capricorn which means I like to do everything myself because I know I’ll get it done the right way. The Peach Fuzz is my baby so I don't want to let go of anything but that means I wait too long to get support.
I just hired an accountant which I should have done a long time ago. I figured I should be able to do it because I went to school for accounting. But then I was spending so much time at my computer focused on that vs. designing. I kept thinking, “the reason why I left accounting wasn't to do more accounting!”
So having those realizations and letting go of some of those things that no longer serve you is really important.
What is your long-term vision for The Peach Fuzz?
Elizabeth: I’ve thought about opening a brick-and-mortar store someday but a more realistic goal is expanding and selling my products through a format similar to what ban.do has done. You’ve probably seen their stuff in gift shops but they started as their own brand and now sell other brand’s products as well. For example, Lisa Says Gah, Baggu, SMO Ceramics and a bunch of other independent makers.
If you had one piece of advice for future LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, what would that be?
Elizabeth: My biggest piece of advice is the sooner you can be 100% authentic to yourself and show up as yourself in person, online, everywhere, the better your business will do.
The second, I was like, “Fuck it, I'm going to be fully myself on the Internet,” is when I got so much validation, so much support, and when I started building a community.
Creating and running The Peach Fuzz has also helped me hone in on who I am, who I want to be, how I want to show up in the world, and how to honor myself and not hide elements of myself.
What LGBTQ+ owned brands are your go-to’s and why?
Elizabeth: I always recommend Ash + Chess. I love them so much and I’ve never been in a gift shop where I don’t see some of their cards or prints. They have been a big inspiration for me in terms of getting more into wholesale.
Can you tell us about one of your core values and how you've incorporated that into The Peach Fuzz?
Elizabeth: Empathy is a core value that I've tried to implement, giving people the benefit of the doubt and expecting the best out of people.
Another principle that I'm very big on is not avoiding topics we’re not supposed to talk about—for example, money or brand deals. I recently made a TikTok about a publicly traded company that contacted me. They asked if I wanted to donate something to their goodie bags for a pride event they were hosting. I was like, “Fuck no!” I'm not interested in helping them set a precedent of getting free things from queer, independent artists. No, thank you.
Everybody is so afraid of being blacklisted from events and I'm like, “blacklist me; I don't care! One less thing for me to do!”
I'm also in a position of incredible privilege to be able to say that, but I think that part of having that privilege is using it for good.
How do you take care of yourself, especially during this moment in history (a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being passed and an increase in violence against our community)?
Elizabeth: I was overwhelmed the other day so I worked on a puzzle, read, got something to eat, and took a step back from the media. Engaging in militant rest is essential to avoiding burnout.
I also like to get loud and raise money for organizations doing hard work. For example, I made a sticker this year that says, “Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks!” The profits go to a Florida organization that helps queer and trans kids access safe spaces and resources. It’s not much, but it’s SOMETHING.
Who is your favorite LGBTQ+ celebrity, and why?
Elizabeth: Ashnikko! She’s the reason why I have blue hair. I've been listening to her since before she had an album. There were three songs that I would listen to on a loop while I was doing tax returns at work. Her music started out being like, “Fuck men. Fuck what they've done to us. You wish that you could touch this. You wish that you could be as cool as me.” And has evolved to include fun queer narratives like in her song “Slumber Party.” All that was super helpful for building my confidence.
Can you share one fun fact about yourself?
Elizabeth: I was born on 12/27 at 12:27.
Check out The Peach Fuzz’s profile here.
