One potter, one kiln, one pair of hands.

Marl & Ash began in 2016 at a single secondhand wheel in a corner of a shared River Arts studio. Tess Holloway had been a line cook for a decade and missed making things with her hands at the end of a shift — so she started throwing mugs after close. Nine years on, it is still a studio of one: every piece is wedged, thrown, trimmed, glazed, and packed by the same pair of hands. We keep batches small on purpose. A kiln fits what it fits, and we would rather make a hundred good pots than a thousand rushed ones.

I throw on a wheel my partner found at an estate sale, fire a kiln I share the bill on, and answer every message myself. There’s no team and no warehouse — when you buy a Marl & Ash pot, you’re buying an afternoon of one person’s actual time.

That’s also why I keep batches small. A kiln fits what it fits, and I’d rather make a hundred good pots than a thousand rushed ones. If a pot doesn’t pass my own table test, it doesn’t go in the box.