Started With One Wheel and a Rented Garage

In late 2017, I spent my last savings on a second-hand Shimpo wheel and a few hundred pounds of stoneware. I didn't have a plan beyond the need to make something real—something that didn't exist behind a screen.

The garage was drafty, the kiln was temperamental, and my first three months of production resulted in more cracks than cups. But in those failures, I found the beauty of the material. I learned that clay has its own timing, and it cannot be rushed.

Today, CLAY & CO has grown into a community of makers, but that original spirit remains. We still use reclaimed water, we still mix our glazes by hand, and we still believe that a thumbprint on the base of a mug is a mark of honor, not a flaw.