News

May 26, 2023

Meet these St. Louis

The St. Louis metro area brims with artisans creating unique home goods,

The St. Louis metro area brims with artisans creating unique home goods, including beautiful – and functional – ceramic wares, sold through their own small businesses and handcrafted goods shops, from Craft Alliance to Union Studio.

Photo courtesy of Caitlin Allen

Caitlin Allen found her voice as a ceramic artist while teaching visual art for eight years at Principia Upper School in Town and Country.

Her Caitlin Allen Studio creations – vividly colored, floral-covered mugs, pitchers and vases – grow from her passion for nature. "I also pour a lot of creative energy into my garden, and I hope my love for nature shines through in my ceramics," Allen says.

Caitlin Allen Studio, 314-520-1044, caitlinallenstudio.com

Photo courtesy of Ashley Drissell

A self-proclaimed "kid who never wanted to leave the art room," Ashley Drissell continues her love affair with clay as a ceramics teacher at Parkway West High School in Chesterfield and as a creator of handmade bowls, small houseplant houses, mugs and other things.

Drissell says her pottery "provides opportunities for pause and appreciation for the beauty of the handmade. And I’m so blessed to share my passion with younger generations – they need this as much as I do."

Ashley Drissell Ceramics, etsy.com/shop/drissellceramics

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Giessow

Elizabeth Giessow's one-of-a-kind, nature-inspired pottery depicting everything from dragonflies to honeybees, mushrooms to cacti, has attracted not only local, "everyday" fans but also celebrities – including her "first big client," actor Jack Nicholson's daughter, Jennifer Nicholson.

"My father, Gary, and his best friend, Martin Schweig – both naturalists since they were kids – shared their passion for nature with me all my life," Giessow says. "I use that love for nature in different ways in my work, from using found nature as textures in my pieces to sculpting small insects [and] animals or flowers in my work. I do use one non-nature texture – an Allen wrench – to make the honeycomb pattern in my bee pieces."

Giessow Pottery, 314-363-8589, instagram.com/giessowpottery

Photo by Courtney Lee Photography, courtesy of Molly Svoboda

Growing up in a home with a "revolving door," Molly Svoboda says new individuals sat down at the dinner table and spent the holidays with her family more often than not.

"I got the pleasure of expanding my palette from a very young age with people and flavors from Pakistan, Congo and Sweden," Svoboda notes. "It inspires me to make tableware, so you, I and others can create even more meaning and joy from the ritual of eating together."

Boda Clay, bodaclaystl.com

Photo courtesy of Malaika Tolford

St. Louis’ beloved neighborhoods, from Dogtown to the Central West End to Soulard, are captured in clay with Malaika Tolford's Place Value Pottery.

The handmade, functional ceramic art combines Tolford's two lifelong interests: geography and history. "I’ve finally found that sweet spot where I can explore those interests and share them with people who value the concept of place as much as I do," she explains, "often with something as simple as a map mug featuring a favorite neighborhood."

Place Value Pottery, placevaluepottery.com

Photo courtesy of Al Westcott

A serendipitous music lesson turned Al Westcott's pottery hobby into a career about eight years ago, when the parents of one of his wife's piano students connected him with Union Studio.

Westcott's work – mostly mugs, bowls, plates and pitchers – is "made to be used, rather than just looked at," he notes. "I’m thrilled and flattered that people enjoy using it."

Union Studio, stlunionstudio.com

Brittany Nay, a writer of 10 years, is an Indiana native who adores Australia, indie rock music, and reading and writing both fiction and non-fiction.