Carol Baumgartel and Croft Elsaesser and are the mother-and-son team at American Clay, based in New Mexico. Elsaesser had been working with plasters for years as a finisher on building projects, but was feeling the negative effects of the toxins within these products. An all-natural solution became his #1 goal. Carol Baumgartel and Croft Elsaesser and are the mother-and-son team at American Clay, based in New Mexico. Elsaesser had been working with plasters for years as a finisher on building projects, but was feeling the negative effects of the toxins within these products. An all-natural solution became his #1 goal.