Rolling the clay out on the kitchen table, she starts workshopping a new design. Using her new inks, they start to take shape. Satisfied with her work, this pair of earrings is the newest design to grace the Dangles & Studs website.
When 10-year-old Sloane Rainey decided to turn her hobby of making custom earrings into a business, she decided to donate all the money she makes. Since Rainey was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of two, and had worked with Cerebral Palsy Awareness Transition Hope (CPATH) before, she wanted to donate all her profits to them. CPATH is a local non-profit that focuses on developing programs and donating money to kids with cerebral palsy and their families.
“I started getting orders right away, which I didn’t expect to happen,” Rainey said. “It makes me feel amazing. CPATH helps me and I want them to help other people to get the supplies we need.”
Rainey started her business in September 2024, with the help of her parents. They helped her set up her website and sometimes give her ideas, like doing a Reed Elementary collection, where Rainey is in fourth grade.
“In first grade, I got a bunch of questions [about cerebral palsy],” Rainey said. “It doesn’t bother me. Since I’ve gotten to the fourth grade, I don’t really get questions.”
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Rainey made her first donation to CPATH in October 2024. With donation matching by Blackbaud, they donated $318.
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At Hanger Clinic, Rainey demonstrates how to care for her AFOs. The process was recorded for the clinic’s Youtube channel and included steps such as proper footwear, cleaning instructions and skin care. “I just sat there and smiled while my mother did all the work,” Rainey said.
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Dangle earrings from the “Bev – OMG” collection, inspired by the University of Texas mascot. Rainey uses a special mold to make the longhorn shape.
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Stud earrings from the “Something Blue” collection. Rainey’s dad Dave Rainey enjoys helping her come up with names for each design.
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A relatively new collection, Rainey created the “Inked” set after receiving alcohol inks as a Christmas present.
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Another collection that uses molds, these dangles from “Smell the Roses” are some of Rainey’s only earrings that are purposefully different shapes on each earring. With other earrings, like the Inked collection, they look different because of the way the ink moves on the clay.
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Pins were added to the store for Rainey’s friend Oscar, who wanted to support the business, but doesn’t have pierced ears. This one was inspired by Rainey’s love for Wicked, which she saw live in March 2024.
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Currently, all Rainey’s earrings are priced at a recommended donation, and Blackbaud price-matches every cent they donate. The non-profit they donate to, CPATH, is one they’ve gotten aid from before.
“We knew before she even came home from the hospital that there was a high likelihood she would have cerebral palsy,” Rainey’s mom Rebecca Rainey said. “She was born 10 weeks premature and had a brain bleed in the region of her brain that affects gross motor. At age two, when they typically diagnose, she wasn’t walking yet. She got ankle-foot orthotics (AFOs), or leg braces and she’s been walking ever since.”
Rainey also uses a knee immobilizer (KI) when she sleeps, to keep her leg straight and her muscles stretched.
“One thing that I didn’t know until I had a daughter with cerebral palsy was that it comes on a spectrum,” Mrs. Rainey said. “I always imagined cerebral palsy equals a wheelchair, maybe verbal, maybe not. I didn’t know that there were people who might look pretty typical when they walk, but also were affected.”
So far, Dangles & Studs have been able to donate $472 to CPATH. That money not only goes to medical equipment that kids with cerebral palsy may need, but to connecting them through community events like craft nights or even trips to Morgan’s Wonderland, a fully accessible amusement park and campground.
“I know two other kids that have cerebral palsy,” Rainey said. “We all got to go to Morgan’s Wonderland together. I like having something in common, but at the same time, we’re all different.”
In the future, Rainey wants to expand her business and keep coming up with new designs and ideas. Lately, she and her family have been talking about new ways to advertise the business.
“Last time we went to a craft night, I told people about my website and then we got a lot of orders from people with cerebral palsy who wanted earrings,” Rainey said. “I want to keep making earrings for a while.”