My Story
Hi there! I'm Christine.
I'm the one woman production behind Tiny Namaste Pottery! I make all of my ceramics in Southern California at a local studio and in the comfort of my balcony. I design handmade ceramic goods that bring elevated color combinations and beautiful shine into your home. The pieces are made to inspire, bring joy to its owners, and just to be aesthetically pleasing.
I began my ceramics journey in high school where I took a semester of a beginner's wheel throwing class and hated it. I received a "B" and was told by my instructor that I was not "trying hard enough." I forgot (but was mostly discouraged) about ceramics for about 10 years until I decided to attempt wheel throwing again while simultaneously climbing out of a funk in my life. This was when I realized that I did not hate it at all. In fact, I LOVED every aspect of it after finding my own style and way of creating without the pressures of formal education. I am mostly self-taught with a lot of guidance from many ceramicist mentors. I enjoy experimenting with techniques often and my motto is, "finished, not perfect." Wheel throwing became my personal therapeutic art form where I can get into flow for hours. Yoga is another therapeutic form that I practice regularly, which is where the name Tiny Namaste Pottery is derived from.
Tiny Namaste Pottery is where my pottery mind meets my yoga mind. It is also a play on how Tiny I actually am in real life. In addition, I am a tiny bit of namaste and sometimes a lot of sass.
I approach each piece as an extension of myself where I try to capture my own playfulness and creativity in the ceramic. I create each piece individually from start to finish and am a one woman production. My style changes often as I evolve my aesthetic, and I may even decide not to recreate collections that no longer suit me. I aim to be in alignment with my authenticity, which I hope is translated in my art. I do not do commissioned pieces or requested variations of my work unless it is aligned with what I would like to make. Honestly, I never intended to open shop or sell any of my pieces at all! I thought I would only make things for myself and my loved ones for fun, but it happened to shape into a small business for me (which I ain't complaining about!). Things just sort of naturally flowed in this direction and I really love interacting with customers who appreciate my work :)
A little bit more about me...
I was born and raised in the Central Coast of California. I went to UCLA for undergrad and USC for grad school. I've lived in Japan and London. I have been to over 31 countries and take many inspiration from my travels. My favorite color is creamsicle orange. I am many other things including a full-time medical social worker, part-time psychotherapist, yoga registered instructor, improv comedy amateur, and full-time pug mother to Subi.
Thanks for stopping by!
Namaste