All Fired Up is our Shop’s monthly handmade ceramics drop, curated by Food52 and sourced from small and local makers. This month, we’re highlighting the work of Oregon-based artist Petra Kaiser.
For most people, stumbling across a pottery wheel on Craigslist might warrant a click—maybe even a little daydream. But $300? That’s probably a scam, right? For ceramicists, though, that’s an insane deal. You’ve got about ten minutes to decide.
For Petra Kaiser, it was a career move.
At the time, she wasn’t a full-time artist. The wheel was an “impulse buy,” she says. But nearly a decade, several odd jobs, and hundreds of pieces later, she runs Sandbox Ceramics out of her home studio in St. Helens, Oregon—with that very same wheel still in rotation. (The kiln came later.)
When I connect with Petra, she’s in her basement studio, though I don’t realize it at first. The space is so airy and bright—like many of her pieces—that it takes me a minute to even clock that it’s a lower level. Sunlight filters in through added windows, casting soft shadows on finished mugs and bowls waiting for glaze. This is where she mixes her signature glazes (many, she says, made by accident), lights a candle, puts on a podcast, and gets to work. Sometimes her three-year-old daughter tags along—she’s past the age of eating clay now.
Petra is funny, warm, and genuinely sharp when it comes to running a business—she’s refreshingly honest about what sells. She also clearly knows way more about ceramics than she lets on in conversation. I suspect she dials it back for people like me, who aren’t exactly fluent in glaze chemistry.
The path that got her here makes perfect sense: she dropped out of college, jumped into any creative job she could find, and asked for more internships than anyone I’ve met. Event planners, florists, photographers—you name it, Petra probably emailed them.
Even the name Sandbox Ceramics came from one of those practical moments. “I made a website,” she told me. “And I was like, I guess I have to call myself something.” She picked a name that felt like childhood. “Like playing in a sandbox,” she said. “That’s how it was born.”
Now, Petra runs a one-woman studio making playful, functional work—and somehow still managing to sneak in a few collaborations, a custom color or two, and some quality time at the wheel with her daughter perched beside her.
Most recently, she teamed up with us on an exclusive All Fired Up collection that’ll make you want to upgrade your kitchen go-tos—from an olive oil cruet to a butter dish worth leaving out.
We caught up with Petra to learn more about her career journey and how she designed this collection. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
How did you first get into ceramics—and do you remember why you were drawn to it?
My grandma was actually a potter, so I was around clay as a kid. She did mostly non-functional, really whimsical stuff. But I didn’t get into it myself until about ten years ago—I took a class at a local community college, and I loved it the second I sat at the wheel.
Once the class ended, I enrolled at a community studio in Portland. But the same week, I found a wheel on Craigslist—the one I still use—and I bought it impulsively. After that, I just started watching YouTube videos. I don’t think I ever went back to take more classes—I kind of just went from there.
Was there a moment when it started to shift from a hobby into a career?
Honestly, that was the goal from the beginning. I was in my early 20s and kind of frantic—I knew I wanted to work with my hands and that I loved making things. So when I found ceramics, it just clicked. I was like, I fucking love this, and I went for it.
Even though I had no business doing it yet, I started emailing potters in Portland to see if they needed help or were offering internships. Somehow, I got hired at Notary Ceramics when she was still working out of her own basement. That’s where I learned a ton—especially about the business side. I worked there for three years before quitting to do this full-time from home.
Even though I had no business doing it yet, I started emailing potters in Portland to see if they needed help or were offering internships.
How did you find the confidence to cold email like that?
I think there were fewer potters in Portland back then. But honestly, I’ve never been afraid to hear “no.” I’m timid in a lot of ways, but when it comes to asking for opportunities? I just go for it. I was like, Will anybody take me, please? And somehow Sarah hired me. I think I was just the first person she talked to. But it worked out!
Let’s talk about the All Fired Up collection. Did you know what you wanted to make right away?
They told me the vibe was going to be darker and moodier—which is really different from my usual bright and playful stuff. But I was excited. I wanted to challenge myself and make something more elevated and timeless.
And I used a special glaze that I never get to use. It’s really pretty.
Photo by Armando Rafael
How did you come up with the glaze?
It was a happy accident. Since I’m not great at making glazes, I have a base I always start with and then add colorants to. That one just worked and luckily, I took enough notes that I could remake it.
Photo by Armando Rafael
Before ceramics, did you imagine going into a different field?
I tried a lot of things. I waited tables, worked in event planning for two florists, and even did photo styling for a graphic designer. But nothing felt right.
I’ve always wanted to love my job. I dropped out of school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do—but I knew I wasn’t going to figure it out in a classroom.
When you finally went full-time with ceramics, were you nervous?
Definitely. I was mostly nervous because I had just quit waiting tables. This was 2019—and then COVID hit. I was freaking out. But weirdly, it worked out. Everyone was at home, on their phones, buying stuff and engaging with Instagram. Somehow, the timing ended up being good.
What ceramics are you eyeing for the summer?
