$5 OFF

 Complete the 'Wordclay' puzzle and get a coupon code for $5 off your next order! 

Click HERE to download a PDF of the puzzle, and email a pic of the completed page to hello@helenlevi.com.

*Coupon cannot be combined with other offers, and applies to regular price pieces only.*

 

 

Studio Shop now open Saturdays!

For the last few years, the studio has had monthly open studio sale dates - one Saturday every month to shop in person. After much deliberation (and turning down requests from visitors at other times of the month) we have decided to offer a weekly day at the Studio Shop! This means, you are welcome to shop online and use the code PICKUP to remove shipping, and pick up your order in person. You can also come without having placed an order, to peruse IRL! And you bet there will be a large selections of 'seconds & samples' which will vary from week to week based on whatever we have going on in the studio at the moment.

Studio Shop hours:
Every Saturday, 12-5pm 
 
Address:
562 Grandview Ave
Ridgewood, NY 11385

The Slip Cast

Thanks so much to The Slip Cast for this wide ranging and thoughtful interview!

The journey to tile

It was an artisanal meet-cute: Jose Noe Suro of Ceramica Suro was strolling around Red Hook one Saturday and saw a line of people outside of an unmarked building. He asked what they were waiting for, and when they said 'pottery', he waited too. It was one of my open studio sales! A couple years later, I went to Guadalajara to explore how we might work together. Founded in 1951 in Tlaquepaque, Noe Suro has transformed the factory over the last two decades into a meeting place for artists from all over the world to realize their vision. I came back to my studio inspired, and spent a lot of 2019 testing out tile ideas. I went back in January 2020 to finalize colors and samples in person. A couple years of delays later (you might guess why) and this long story is finally told!

Shop the collection here!

The original samples, made in Red Hook: I used my extruder with a custom die which allowed me to make the ribbed texture, which I puzzle-pieced together by hand.

The factory made a plaster mold of these samples...

... and then uses a RAM-press to press these tiles - the same process as my dinnerware line!

Once they're dry, each tile is cleaned and smoothed by hand.

For the hand painted designs; they are sprayed with clear glaze on top of the shapes. Here's a quiet moment in the spray booth area.

Here's the glaze room where I sifted through hundreds of test tiles as I selected the color combos for the final collection:

After glazing, the tiles are fired in these huge 'car kilns' - where the shelves roll out onto these tracks.

A million thank you's to Jose Noe and the team at Ceramica Suro for making my designs a reality.

 

Process & growth: an essay

I’m pleased to announce the launch of two new pieces to my dinnerware line: an 8” Lunch plate, and a 6” Soup bowl. In my own kitchen, I use the Shallow bowl for most dinners, but for lunch and breakfast, I prefer what I think of as a sandwich plate - about 8” across. I know lots of people like a regular dinner plate, so I still plan to offer it. As for the bowl, after launching my ‘Breakfast bowl’ a couple years ago, I found myself wishing I had made the design with a foot ring, as opposed to the flat bottom, so it paired better with my dinner plate. I also wished the bowl held a little more volume so it could be more versatile; used for soup as well as yogurt. So, I made the decision to redesign! At long last, the two new pieces are both ready. Check them out here!


This gives me a chance to talk about how I got here, and the production story I’ve wanted to tell for a long time...


When I first started my business in 2013, I threw each piece on the wheel by myself. I learned quickly this method really limited the number of pieces I could make.  As I started to get burnt out on the repetition of production throwing, I explored how I might increase my production in a way that felt natural to me. When I first hired an assistant, I had to learn what steps of the ceramic process to delegate and what to do myself. The wheel was my first love, and I knew I wanted to keep it for myself; I still throw and trim each piece myself 7 years later. I learned slipcasting to expand my work with colored clay, and that process created tasks that my assistants could do without me: making the plaster molds, smoothing each piece by hand, sanding them after the first firing, and glazing them with only clear glaze, since the color is added during the casting process with tinted clay. This is how the Beach and Meadow series are made.


By 2016, I wanted to figure out how I could offer dinner plates regularly. I knew that throwing them on the wheel one by one felt unsustainable (ask any potter why!). Plates have a high ‘seconds’ rate, they can warp or crack, and they take up a lot of shelf space as they need to dry slowly. I learned about a RAM press, which is a hydraulic press that uses many tons of pressure to press soft clay into a mold. I threw an original plate on my wheel in the studio, had an expert moldmaker make a master for the presser to use, and then sent it to the manufacturer. Each piece of clay is loaded by hand into the machine one by one, and each pressed piece has the edges smoothed with a sponge. Despite being relatively labor intensive for a mass production method, in a few days several hundred pieces can be pressed, and they are all the same in size and thickness - this was important to me so the plates would stack nicely in a cabinet. Investing in my own RAM press in-house would have meant a significant upfront cost (requiring a loan), a lot of physical space (all those pieces have to be stored as they’re drying), and expanding my team to include employees who could operate the press. Instead, I decided to work with a RAM presser out of state, who presses and then bisques the plates, firing them to a low temperature so they are safe to ship to me on a pallet. Once I receive them, I glaze and fire them to order in my own studio. 

 

Above: My 2016 dinner plate in production


Integrating this new RAM process challenged me to design in a new way. Part of what I love about the size of my production in-house is the freedom I have to change my mind if I’m not happy with how a piece is working. As such, my designs shift and flex all the time! Once I decided to work with the press, I had to design a piece that would remain in my collection for a long time: the setup to have my piece prepared for RAM by a master moldmaker is significant in both time and cost. It was a scary step to get the dinner plates made because it was the biggest financial investment I had ever made in my business (much bigger than a kiln or other equipment I had bought). But, I suddenly was able to say yes to orders I had previously had to decline; 80 plates in a few weeks for a dinner event would have been an impossibility if I was throwing them. The next year, I was ready to add another shape, my shallow bowl.

Above: My 'snack plate' mold at the moldmaker's workshop

In 2018, I took a road trip to visit several small ceramic factories in the US, or ‘potteries’ as they’re called. Seeing what parts of the clay process are the same and what are different at scale thrills me, and getting a peek into the rich tradition of American manufacturing made me proud to continue to support this process in my own work. There used to be hundreds of such factories across the US, and while most are dying out, it was a revelation to see some in action. Most of the people working at these potteries have been in this field for decades and are true masters of the craft. It was a challenge to find the right partner for my pieces since I'm a pretty small fry compared to the bigger orders they're used to. Visiting in person and leaving a cup behind at every stop, I learned so much about dinnerware design and came home inspired to expand my collection. This manufacturing allows me to incrementally grow my business and focus on sustaining my practice long term.

Above: My shallow bowl original, getting prepped

Above: Racks of pieces in various stages of completion

My interest in visiting factories and seeing how things are made is a long love affair: when I was a recent college graduate living in Ridgewood ten years ago (the same neighborhood where the studio is now), I lived next door to a defunct knitting factory where my 75 year old next door neighbor still went to work every day to sweep up and putter around. We made friends, and I helped him sell all of his antique machines on eBay, and photographed the process of clearing them out when the buyer came with a 28 foot tractor trailer. I had no idea then that I would end up starting my own business making products here in NYC, eventually settling just a few blocks away. While so much of American manufacturing no longer exists, I like to think that tiny companies like mine are carrying the torch forward in our own way. 


Above: My neighbor behind one of his knitting machines

Those potters keep protesting!

*UPDATE* Thank you so much for another great event! We raised a total of $6,720 split between the two organizations.
Tickets are live for the next Potters in Protest dinner which is taking place Monday, March 11! CLICK HERE :-)

Potters from all over the country are donating handmade bowls; diners choose one to eat from, and take the bowl home to keep! 

All proceeds from the event will benefit UnLocal and SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). 

Dinner will be provided by bread guru Rick Easton of Bread & Salt bakery, Vinegar Hill House is hosting, and wine supplied by Wenzlau Vineyard.

This is the fourth event I've hosted here in NYC in this series, which has included the work of over 100 potters and raised more than $15,000. There have also been many other sister events in other cities - check out the hashtag #pottersinprotest on Instagram to see more.

Hope to see you there!

Art by Abbie Zuidema 

Shallow bowls, at long last!

The short story:

I’m launching a new piece to my webshop today! It’s an everyday bowl, the type of dish I like to eat every meal out of at home, instead of a plate. It’s made from a warm brown stoneware, measures 8″ x 2″, and is dishwasher and microwave safe. It’s available in Ocean (blue swirl) or Squid (black swirl). Click here to shop!

Now, for the long story…

 

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Look ma, I'm in the New York Times!

Such a thrill to see my bowl included in this piece. Thank you NYT!

Shop the bowl HERE :-)

New lights for Tonchin New York!

It’s such a pleasure to work with Carpenter & Mason, this time for Tonchin New York. Thanks to Dezeen for mentioning the custom ceramic light fixtures I made for this project! Read the whole piece here.

 

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DVF Collaboration

I was asked by DVF to create a body of work inspired by their fall prints, and it was such a fun challenge for me. You can see the results in person at their Soho flagship store, and soon in the LA Grove store as well. Read more about it and watch a video of me […]

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Exclusive pink mugs for ban.do!

Ban.do asked me to make some pink designs for them, and I’m really happy with the results! Check out all the pieces here

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Potters in Protest Ice Cream Social Sept 9!

*UPDATE!!*
We sold 123 bowls and raised nearly $5K for the CCR! Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the success of this event!

 

The next event in the Potters in Protest series is coming up on September 9!

 

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Four and Sons

Billy finally is getting his time to shine! We are both featured in the upcoming print issue of Four and Sons, order your copy here.

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WORKSHOP on June 15!

Join illustrator Leah Goren and me for an evening of plate painting in my studio! June 15, 6:30 – 9:30 pm. All painting supplies including brushes and underglaze will be provided, along with wine, snacks, and floral arrangements to draw from. Each guest will receive a blank stoneware dinner plate to paint on.  After the workshop your plate will be glazed with a clear food-safe glaze and will be shipped to you. Shipping is included with the price of the workshop. If you would like to paint more than one plate additional plates are available for purchase at the event.

Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Hope to see you there!

 

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Cup of Jo

A very thorough & personal interview is up at Cup of Jo, my favorite blog!

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Design*Sponge X Gentl & Hyers

Thank you so much to Design*Sponge for sharing some of the beautiful photos Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers took of my studio!

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This is my job!

Holy cow, I’m in GLAMOUR!

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Beeswax Candle Launch!

Last winter I was experimenting with making ceramic candlestick holders. They were really fun to make, but challenging to get them to survive all the firing steps, and time consuming too. After realizing they would end up retailing at too high a price point to really make sense, I got the idea to make the candlestick into the candle itself. What followed was several months of trying to DIY something that was really above my pay grade, and then finding a couple of experts who could actually make the idea come to life.

 

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Apartment Therapy

Thanks so much for this very accurate look into my daily routine!

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Sight Unseen

Thanks to Sight Unseen for helping me launch my dinner plate line!

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New process for a new dinner plate line!

I’ve never offered dinner plates regularly before because as any potter will tell you, they’re a bear. You need a lot of clay for each one, then you have to trim a lot off of the bottom after you throw them, and then they need to dry very slowly to avoid warping or cracking. Other potters I’ve talked to say they break even on plates, and there’s always a lot of seconds. Also, unlike a mug, which doesn’t bother me if they’re 1/4″ different in height, I think for function’s sake it’s important to have plates be relatively consistent, so they stack well in your cupboard.
For this reason I decided to try out RAM pressing for my dinner plate line! A RAM press is a hydraulic press that uses 60 tons of pressure to press soft clay into a mold. Several months ago I made a bunch of plate samples on the wheel and sent them to a ceramic manufacturer in California. He made a steel mold of my best plate, and sent me back a sample from the press. There was a bit of back and forth to tweak them to be exactly as I wanted, but once we got it down, he produced several hundred plates in just 3 days on the press. Then he bisqued them (fired them to a low temperature so they’re ready to be glazed) and then packed them up on a pallet to me. Now I have blank canvases, white stoneware plates ready to be glazed.
I spent all summer experimenting with glaze chemistry and testing out palettes. All the plates will be glazed to order in my studio. It’s my first time ever working with a manufacturer outside my own studio, but I’m excited to learn how to grow my small business in a way that feels natural to me. A great benefit of making my plate line this way, besides consistency, is that they will be priced significantly lower than if I threw them on the wheel.
As for the colors, I was very much inspired by growing up with mismatched Fiestaware dinner plates and setting the table being aware of which of the four of us got which color, and when we had more people over, not repeating colors next to each other. So the set of four mismatched plates is what I’m most excited about. Then I have the Artist’s series plates, which was one of the very first colorways I ever offered when I first started selling my work almost four years ago. I also of course wanted to include my Ocean colorway, one of my favorite surface designs. And last but not least, I found a matte cobalt glaze that I had to include!
To check out the whole finished collection click  HERE.
And here’s some photos and video of the process it took to get the plates to me:

 

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A day spent with F von F

So proud to have my work and studio appear on Freunde von Freunden. Thanks for the great photos James Chororos!

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The Shopkeepers

Thank you to Paula from The Shopkeepers for featuring my work!

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Bon Apetit

Thanks to Bon Apetit for including my mug among such a nice selection!

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Backyard Bill

Thanks so much to Backyard Bill for coming by the studio! I love his work so much.

See the story HERE (there’s a video too!)

 

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Collaboration with Ariele Alasko

It’s been such a pleasure over the last couple years to collaborate with my friend, the talented woodworked Ariele Alasko. Yesterday we had our final in person sale before she leaves New York, and tomorrow morning a few pieces will be for sale online, on her webshop, at 11am NY time.

 

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Cottage Hill Magazine

Thanks to Cottage Hill Magazine for the feature on my studio! It was shot by my longtime friend, talented photographer Stephan Alessi.

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ELLE Korea

Thanks so much to Elle Korea for visiting my studio! Wish I could read it

Online version HERE

 

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Exclusive pieces for KM

I made two limited-edition and exclusive pieces for Kauffmann Mercantile: a hanging planter and a colander. They also did a studio visit and interview! Check it out HERE

 

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Empty Bowls Recap

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to eat chili this past Sunday! We raised $2,786 for City Harvest.
And many thanks to the people who made this happen:

HOST WITH THE MOST

  • Vinegar Hill House

RESTAURANTS

  • Ciao for Now
  • Vinegar Hill House
  • Meatball Shop
  • Mission Chinese

POTTERS

  • Clam Lab
  • Nicholas Newcomb
  • Leigh Forsstrom
  • Whittney Klann
  • Brooke Winfrey
  • BDB NY
  • Virginia Sin

 

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EMPTY BOWLS this Sunday 11/22!

I’m organizing an ‘Empty Bowls’ charity dinner this Sunday!
Come enjoy a CHILI COOK-OFF this Sunday at Hillside, featuring Mission Chinese Food, The Meatball Shop, Ciao For Now & Vinegar Hill House in hand crafted bowls made by CLAM LAB, Nicholas Newcomb Pottery and Sculpture, Object and Totem, BTW Ceramics, BDB and MORE!

$40 suggested donation for chili and you get to take your new bowl home, or $20 for just the chili.
All proceeds benefit hunger fighting charities in NYC.
No reservations, first come first served, 5pm & 7pm seatings.
70 Hudson avenue in Brooklyn.

 

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Vogue, September Issue

What a thrill to be included in this piece about ceramics in Vogue! A million thanks!

 

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Seamore’s NYC lighting

I worked as a waitress and bartender at The Meatball Shop for many years, and the owners Dan and Mike always took me back after I quit to support my art, then ran out of money and came back. So it means a great deal to me to be able to make these light fixtures […]

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Cheeseboard Animals

I had so much fun with Thing Industries making these tiny porcelain animals to identify different cheeses on a cheese board. Thanks for asking me to do it!

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Show recap

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the show at The Primary Essentials! And thank you to Bruichladdich for making the event possible.
Artist’s statement after the jump…

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What I Wear to Work

Thanks so much to Bloomberg Businessweek for visiting my temporary LA studio to check out my threads!

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New collection of work for Bruichladdich

I’ve been working for months on a collection of work commissioned by Bruichladdich. Last summer I went on a road trip from New York to New Mexico, making stops all along the way to visit the factories that produce my clay and glazes, meet other potters, and collect raw materials that I was hoping to […]

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March 2015 Lucky Magazine

Thanks for the mention, Lucky!

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Winter in Los Angeles

Helen Levi Ceramics is spending the coldest months of the year in Los Angeles! Production will continue with a focus on exploring high temperature gas firings. Looking forward to sharing the new work with you, and picking back up with my full catalogue of work in New York in April.

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Dishes for Vinegar Hill House

I’m so pleased to have made these bowls for the fantastic Vinegar Hill House. They’ll be used for specials, so make sure you order off the menu when you go.

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Mini collection for Duo

I made this little collection for Duo NYC, a store just a block away from where I was born.

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Ocean dinner set for Totokaelo

Very proud of this three piece porcelain dinner set I made, now available exclusively through Totokaelo

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Visiting Islay!

Fresh on the heels of my all-American road trip, I went to Islay, Scotland, to visit the folks at Bruichladdich and learn about their process. I discovered an incredible landscape and the warmest community of people, as well as the most handsome cows I’ve ever seen. Here’s a few snaps from film, more to come…

 

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New York Sushi Ko

I am so proud to have made all the dishes for New York Sushi Ko, an omakase style sushi restaurant in Manhattan. I made 200 pieces, including cups, chopstick holders, and plates in seven styles for the seven course tasting menu. The food there is out of this world, learn more here

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