Spring move: garage to Oasis
On April 17th, 2024 Waveform moved from the cozy garage in Ivy Hill to a shared studio space in North Oakland, departing from its original 8 x 10 space to a 425 sq ft loft with skylights, a window, high ceilings and a tree-lined courtyard.
I’d like to share some small business reflections on the move (it’s been two months) as well as some of my experiences getting into woodworking and connecting with the Waveform community to make studio projects come to life.
The garage
Waveform Ceramics was born in my Ivy Hill garage during the height of the pandemic.
Moving was bittersweet. The garage was a safe space for Waveform to evolve. I didn’t really have much of a business plan when I started the studio - just a wheel and an instinct to teach. There are things I miss about Waveform’s birthplace: I miss saying hello to neighbors as they stroll by. I miss looking out at the trees in the wind while students throw on the wheel. I miss the wonderfully consistent reaction visitors had to the space: surprise and delight to discover a cute, welcoming art space in an unassuming corner of a garage.
Art-making can be intimidating, and art studios can feel scary to someone who is trying something new. Pottery is an especially challenging craft - you may have already had a beginner experience that was stressful or didn’t go as expected. Waveform’s origin space was heartfelt, intimate and raw. It was DIY, a quality students often told me put them at ease - it also had us coordinating within a *very* tight space, so we got comfortable with one another quick.
Deciding to move
After my second winter in the garage, I was done. It was cold and wet into late March! Yes, if you’re not in the Bay Area and you’re reading this, I know, we have amazing weather and that anyone who has lived here for a spell has adapted to a very slim comfort zone of 68 - 72 F, with very low humidity, as the baseline. However spoiled I may be by Oakland weather, it *does* have a rainy season, and being cold and clammy for 8 hours is no fun for a pottery instructor, nor is it a particularly welcoming space for students, no matter how aggressively we run the space heater.
In addition to the challenge of operating a pottery studio in a space that was continuously wet (slow-drying pots, heavier loads to lift, mold, oh my!), I struggled to think expansively about the future of my business while operating in such a small space. I was cramped physically and mentally: Waveform needed breathing room.
Sweet Suite T
Once I made the choice to move, things escalated quickly.
I found Suite T (or Waveform Art Oasis as I’m calling it) in just a few weeks. I looked at a few spaces - warehouses, storefronts, shared artists studios. I was intrigued by the different buildings, apprehensive about parking for my clients, and hopeful to build community with studiomates and neighbors. I was stressed out by the price tags and lease terms on the bigger, more established spaces, and I was wary of warehouse vibes that felt like another flavor of the garage. I saw a post for a shared studio space on Craigslist, and within a few days I met Lila Volkas, holistic nutritionist and my current studiomate, for a tour of Suite T.
I found the space airy and bright, and Lila is a kind-hearted, organized small business owner passionate about mocktails, fermentation and nutrition. She also happens to do ceramics and has a slab roller downstairs! She was so excited about Waveform; I felt instantly welcomed. I mulled it over for a week and decided to go for it: it felt right.
Lowell Street Neighbors & The Courtyard Crew
The studio is set in a small courtyard with several other businesses surrounding it: a jeweler, an interior designer, a screen printer, a gallery, a potter (!), electricians, biologists, and two art restorers. It feels so good to head to work everyday and have small interactions with other small businesses. Running a one-human show can be isolating, but there are so many other people dealing with similar experiences! When I was thinking about the move, I knew I wanted Waveform to have neighbors I could connect with. Once I get more settled I am looking forward to connecting more with my neighbors and hopefully co-hosting some events and open houses.
Woodworking
When I started dreaming up layouts for the new space, it didn’t occur to me *not* to build most of the furniture myself. Having access to my own studio meant having the time and space to customize everything - from the height of the countertop to the curve of the table corners.
The first thing I had ever built was this little shelf for craft fairs back when I sold my own work (I don’t really do that anymore, but check out my radio planters!), followed by the wheel stands pictured in the right hand image - I’ll write blog articles soon if you want to learn more about the evolution of Waveform wheel stands and how to set up a beginner pottery studio in your own home.
When I moved into the studio I hadn’t built anything other than those two things.
Over the past two months I’ve built a large art table on wheels, a narrow countertop, a wedging table, a pegboard shelving unit and various displays for the Art Oasis. I’m incredibly proud of these woodworking projects and they were not without mistakes, repeated trips to the lumber yard, google searches, YouTube deep dives and voice notes to beloved builders and handypeople in my life.
I will write more about woodworking and how it brings me peace, connects me to my grandfathers and has me falling in love with math and design. I will also be sharing my reflections on hardware stores and lumber yards in the Bay Area - especially for you fellow neurospicy queers as well as anyone who feels like they don’t belong in a hardware store… I hope that giving you the rundown of your options in the Bay will be helpful, from one woodworking dabbler to another!
Community powered projects
Over the past two months I’ve been fortunate to have community support.
Some gems:
My friend Meghan of Swell Shark Studios (art instructor, logo-designer and world traveler) borrowed her dad’s truck and helped me move the entire garage into the Art Oasis in THREE HOURS! Meghan was one of Waveform’s first ever students and is my dear friend from my copywriting days. She is a dope designer and will be leading a leather painting workshop at the Waveform Art Oasis soon!
My regular-turned-friend Agnes came by to help me clean up a used fan I found on Craigslist, hold 8 foot long trim in place while I finished the countertops and work on the DIY air purifier I made for the studio! Agnes started coming to Waveform in 2022 and has since become a member at Merritt Ceramics, with her own art account on Insta showcasing her pottery. Her baby Aurora is the youngest Waveform regular to date!
Nikita and Mari or BLD RTS came through on a Saturday and spent FOUR HOURS mounting shelves to the Art Oasis walls and adding a shelf to the art table. They came ready with tools and a can-do attitude! They visited Waveform in the garage years and have been following my woodworking/hardware store journey via the studio’s Instagram stories.
A regular from last year, Minni, came by to help me with painting projects one evening. She is in transition (Waveform attracts people who leave their jobs, run small businesses, think about leaving their jobs, or are in transition… I don’t know if it’s because of my story or if it’s just a coincidence!) and we talked about the move away from a 9-5 while we spruced up shelving with Waveform’s classic pinks, oranges and blues.
A new Waveform friend Vinu and her partner Kevin came by to help me seal shelving with polyurethane and project the logo onto the wall. Vinu also came to Waveform while in transition between jobs. We talked small business dreams and bonded over a love for working with our hands!
Waveform regular Chelsea, who has been coming to the studio for over a year now, stopped by MULTIPLE TIMES to install hooks in the wall, tidy, bring me snacks to enjoy while she trimmed work, and generally boosted my morale repeatedly with her positive energy and determined presence.
Mentors & support systems
If you’re a small business owner, or someone you know and love is navigating small biz waters, you know that it takes a network of care and support to keep a small business afloat - the community of Waveform students keeps the studio thriving, as do my mentors, friends and family.
I’m so grateful for the support of my friend and mentor Matthew Duke of Kids ‘N’ Clay in Berkeley, who helped me build the art table and has taught me so much about studio builds, electrical work, small business dreams and working with kids on the wheel.
Also thank you to Kewesi Simon of KES Fitness in West Oakland, who has helped me every week since September of 2022 with my mobility, self awareness and sense of safety through Muay Thai training and bodywork sessions.
I’ll write a blog post about mentorship, dinna fash.
I’m grateful to have trusted family (chosen and otherwise) to talk through bookkeeping, marketing, staffing and other executive decisions! My small business support system includes my roommates Lauren Parish (Healing Fire Acupuncture) and Dylan DiMartini, who are sources of inspiration and motivation, as well as community organizer and yoga instructor Sola Habibi, Brown Sugar Botanicals founder Chris Wakefied, my business coach Slam! Rose Johnson, my new studiomate Lila Volkas and the members of BANG! (The Bay Area Networking Group). I am also lucky to have family members who have run small businesses or have been self-employed - my sister, as the founder of Alpine Dance Academy, and my father, who worked as a consultant for his entire career in computer programming.
Community momentum
People have shared that they feel energized and inspired when they witness Waveform transform from what it was in the garage to what it is at the Art Oasis. They talk about projects they want to see happen in their own garage, or hobbies they want to pick up. Their encouragement and enthusiasm feeds my soul and keeps me motivated, helping me to show up to work and do all the things to keep Waveform a reality. Not just the fun stuff like teaching art and building tables, but the hard stuff… financial analysis, SEO optimization, building a business strategy, enacting marketing plans.
I am grateful to run a business that feels like a creative cycle: the space I create inspires my students, and my studio community inspires me to keep pouring my energy into Waveform.
Next up: DIY projects on the horizon
Two months in, the studio is in a decent spot in terms of functionality (I was running classes in the space two days after I moved, but now we’re really cooking with gas). I have a kitchenette and mini-office (aka a printer and spot for my laptop, lol) to keep me fed and focused on admin and freelance days. We’ve got a wedging table and bucket station for reclaim, as well as shelving for student work, a counter for checkout and glaze selection, and a display for finished work and merch. We’ve also got an art table on wheels and seating for up to 12 people for handbuilding, mixed media workshops and craft nights!
Projects on the horizon:
A field trip to The ReUse People in San Leandro for material to build a massive storage bench
Sewing project: memory foam and upholstery for comfortable cushions for said bench
Installing a sound system (anyone have vinyl they want to donate!?)
Making planters and hanging plants (featuring greenery from Knots + Found!)
If you find yourself curious about studio projects and interested in hanging out at Waveform while these dreams come to life, get in touch! I’d love to see you and I always appreciate company and help from the studio community.
Learn more about Waveform’s pottery classes here, or see if an upcoming workshop peaks your interest!
