Many of you ask where the brand name "You Are Hot Stuff" comes from. Here's the story.
First off, You Are Hot Stuff is currently a 1-human show, created by Drusilla (Dru) Cowan. I make earrings, accessories, and other artwork centered around themes of bodily autonomy, sex positivity, and healing—drawing from personal experiences around sexual violence, a lost ancestry, and navigating Queerness/gender norms.
🌶 The name You Are Hot Stuff is mostly a callback to my upbringing in Kentucky and South Louisiana:
1) I love spicy food and can handle more heat than most people you know
2) Southern politics kept me closeted, even to myself, til I was 25. That led to a lot of internalized shame and suppressed feelings that I still actively push back against. You Are Hot Stuff is an affirmation that I am an empowered being, sexual and otherwise.
3) It’s a reclamation of power from every catcaller I’ve ever experienced.
4) The first earrings I ever sold were made from some fake peppers I found at East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse. I added hooks, wrote “Hot Stuff” on them (because I love puns), and people liked them!
5) And low key, I’m paying homage to my early 2000s teen years, where every article of clothing bought had a phrase like “Hot Stuff”, “Juicy”, or whatever sexual phrase bedazzled across the butt/boobs.
I ultimately settled on the phrase “You Are Hot Stuff” because its an affirmation anyone could use. My work may be very personal, but this brand is about lifting each other up. I want to speak to the power of collective, and how community builds foundation for autonomy through unconditional love and support. Seriously, I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the love and support of some incredible chosen family.
I’m wearing the original “Hot Stuff” earrings in the featured image above, from 2018. They're not available anymore, but I've recreated them for my latest product drop: the Hot Stuff Collection.
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a great day, Hot Stuff! 🌶💕