If you’re looking for some sort of an inspirational, awe-inspiring story, well, look elsewhere, cause this isn't one. If you’re looking for a saga of struggle, a chronicle of winning against insurmountable odds, umm, nope, this isn't that either.

At best, this is a happy (yes, sigh, happy!) story of a beginning. And I learnt early, that the beginning of anything, is a very good place to start.

Sometime in June last year, after endless debate, discussion and procrastination, we decided we needed to be more than good corporate cogs and finally do something we’re better at.

“We” being fellow potter and quiet ceramic connoisseur Bhairavi Naik and me.

I had spent a few years dreaming of being a full time potter. I’d even made an abortive attempt at that very urban ambition of giving it all up for a ‘simpler’ life in Goa. Yes, yes. I went to Goa from Mumbai, and returned within a year.

Bhairavi, thankfully, wasn't prone to such impulsive acts of cliche. Clearly though, her good sense doesn't always prevail… Post my return from the ‘sunny’ state, I settled for a day-job and the more important ‘after work’ pursuit of ceramics at Sandeep Manchekar’s studio in a rather interesting neighbourhood at Goregaon West. The studio was a ‘go-to destination’ for an eclectic bunch of visiting pottery enthusiasts. People turned up. Worked. Or didn't. And eventually left when sanity triumphed. A very select lot stayed. And an even more odder two within that lot were Bhairavi and yours truly.

Media professionals with muddled minds and muddy hands.

So here we are. A year into starting our own ceramic studio.

Curators Of Clay.

While in terms of personalities, likes, dislikes and just lifestyles Bhairavi and I couldn't be more different (she’s vegetarian, need I say more?), we were both, individually, rather obsessed with ceramics. And thankfully while we were two very different people — we both seemed to be drawn to the same kind of aesthetic, the same kind of very classic, beautiful, functional pottery — though our individual ways of making that kind of pottery couldn't be more different!

And since I’m the one writing this, I can use nicer words for my craft — spontaneous… flamboyant… while Bhairavi leans towards a more organised, solid, steady sort of approach.

Let’s just say that there’s a method to the madness. She’s all method. I’ll take responsibility for the madness.

And quite honestly, this being completely different individuals, leading fully independent lives with very little in common apart from pottery seemed to help keep sanity in what we soon realized was a rather crazy pursuit. Setting up a studio tested our patience, drained our paltry savings and rendered us completely consumed by clay and kilns.

It also helped that our vision for Curators Of Clay remained rather simple — We want our pottery to be loved, cherished and most importantly, used.

All our work is handmade, and I feel that makes our pottery a lot like us — friendly, happy, individualistic and often, whimsical. Quite unlike us though, our pottery is also food-safe, microwave / oven friendly and dishwasher compliant. Almost all our work is functional pottery — beautiful, handcrafted ceramics for regular usage — Curators of Clay believes that the best kind of art that which you can use & enjoy every day. And that’s precisely how we design and craft our work — for everyday usage.

Curators Of Clay has started out purely as an indulgent pursuit of beauty and peace. With clay being the ‘medium’ of choice.
We have this wild notion of every single discerning house owner in the country owning at least one of our works! We like the idea of people using ceramics handcrafted by us. As potters, it’s the connection between the user and each piece of pottery he / she uses that intrigues and excites us.

I hope to document my own journey into this realm of madness. Even at this very nascent phase, there are many people to thank. Family, better halves, friends, bosses… And every incredulous but well-meaning person who’s voiced concern, doubt and downright dismissed this seemingly insane pursuit.

I can understand their scepticism. We've not been immune to it ourselves. Almost everyday we've wondered at the sheer viability of this venture. Business plans, revenue models and structures have been worked out. Then reworked. And then trashed again for possibly other more promising ones… Making it amply clear that we’re not quite business-minded. Plus, even in the hallowed, uber-cool world of start-ups, a clay studio is hardly the kind of venture anyone ‘gets’. To be fair, we don’t ‘get’ much of their world either — we've no clue of valuations, angel investing, scaling-up and what-have-you.

What we do know, is making beautiful, handcrafted mugs, jugs, bowls, plates, jars, spoons, tumblers, cups, teapots and much more.

At Curators of Clay, we hope to make good, gorgeous pottery. And hopefully find a few discerning buyers for our work.

We've only just begun.