Kim Westad

“My goal is to design and produce unique, heirloom-quality pieces that people will love and use in their homes,” explains ceramist Kim Westad. Just previewing her new line makes you want to reach out and touch a piece. The “Groove Collection” has a soft, linear texture on the exterior, accented with a muted glaze or a bright pop of color that peeks over the lip.

Westad launched her now Bronx, N.Y.-based business in 2004, after a friend encouraged her to take a pottery class to break the monotony of her graphic design career. “Working with clay was what I had been missing from my creative life,” she says. “I would dream about throwing.”

Today, Westad is equally immersed in clay. “I love the physical act of making pots,” she says. “The way porcelain feels in my hands and the rhythmic and meditative process of throwing on the wheel.”