Merritt Ceramics Joins our Local Partnerships Program
We’re excited to announce that Merritt Ceramics is the newest business to join our local partnerships program! Like with Red Bay Coffee, we’re teaming up to offer our sustaining members a 10% discount on workshops at this East Bay studio. So roll up your sleeves, turn on your creative side, and get ready to get a little messy! If you’d like to access this discount as well as others to come, you can become a sustaining member here.
Merritt Ceramics started with 3 Oakland based artists, Steve Ruby, Anna Krengel, and Katie Swan. About a year ago they started teaching classes in their space on East 10th Street, but after the election, they decided they wanted to ramp up impact in the community. The studio felt like a sanctuary for the owners and they wanted to share that with the community, so they kicked off a Free Community Clay night once a month. In addition, they also began participating in Oakland First Fridays and other art events to bring clay to places it usually can’t be found. That’s when ceramic street art started with #Communitycharms.
“At Merritt Ceramics we hope to be a resource for Oakland residents. We are a space where people can come to create, use their imagination, relax, learn new skills, and meet some awesome people. We also want to change the perception of what a ceramic studio looks and feels like. When you sign up for a class or event you are also investing in your community.”
~ Katie Swan, Merritt Ceramics
We first met Merritt Ceramics at Creative Mornings Oakland. Not only did their origin story resonate with us at TechEquity, but we loved their environmentally conscious decisions about recycling clay. All the leftover clay from their own artwork and from classes is mixed back together and reclaimed. Nothing goes to waste!
What Merritt Ceramics and TechEquity share is a mission of connecting communities. We’re building spaces for Bay Area residents, longtime and new, to connect, listen, and work together to create a more vibrant region. We hope you’ll join us in growing our community!
We’ll be communicating directly with our sustaining members on how they can access this discount. But we hope to see you all at the next community clay night, September 5th! Merritt Ceramics also does company events. If your office has a happy hour or holiday party coming up and wants to include a fun art project, send a note to merrittceramics[at]gmail.com and let them know TechEquity sent you.
Become a member of TechEquity today!
We are organizing the tech community to advocate for a tech-driven economy in the Bay Area that works for everyone. We believe the tech industry can and should generate widespread opportunity instead of inequality and displacement.
