BC Business
Stack your shelves with these local ceramics
Karla Strickland’s Ucluelet-based studio really does it all: the property serves as a workspace, art gallery, classroom and shop. The Sunshine Coast artist honed her skills at a local community centre before launching Kay Ceramic and Design in 2019. “My style is modern and simple, often utilizing the same glazes over and over again but allowing the different clays and combinations to create a unique look,” she says.
Shuobi Wu’s family history in the ceramics business goes back to the early 1900s—his Vancouver-based company is very aptly named Lineage Ceramics. Founded in 2020, Lineage sells hardy plates, bowls, saucers and drinkware in cozy neutral colours.
Ceramicist Tessa Reed learned her craft at Granville Island’s Kingsmill Studio. “I heavily credit the artists there as a massive inspiration to where I am today,” she says. Her other inspiration? Her cat, Charlie, who appears throughout her work. She first formed the feline-forward Tessaramics in 2013 (her resumé also includes a stint at a catfé, classic). She and Charlie both work in Burnaby.
Tanvi Arora was just named Western Living magazine’s Maker of the Year in its 2023 Designers of the Year competition. So it’s too late to say you knew about her before she hit it big, but now’s the time to check out the Dubai-born maker’s East Van-based Tav Ceramics and its impressive portfolio of work including dinnerware, vases, lighting and art installations.
Instead of using an electric kiln, Vancouver-based maker Michelle Grimm finishes her ceramics with real fire on a 17-acre farm in Langley. Since 2017 she’s been crafting one-of-a-kind wares—in part thanks to unique techniques, like soda firing, raku and using horse hair to create organic designs.
Kelowna-based Love Co. Ceramics has humble beginnings: founder Bri Paulson first learned pottery as a teen, then picked it back up post-undergrad, creating a makeshift studio in her kitchen. Now she’s working in ceramics full-time—the biz was officially founded in 2020. Love Co.’s products mix glazed with non-glazed clay: “I like to leave the natural clay in parts of my mugs so that you can feel the texture,” explains Paulson.