Daily Inspiration: Meet Leandra Valerio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leandra Valerio.

Hi Leandra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my ceramics journey through a Groupon years ago. I had no idea I would fall in love with clay, and after the Groupon class at a local ceramics studio, I didn’t touch clay for about 2 years. My partner gifted me a beginner pottery wheel for Christmas a while back, and from there the rest was history. My obsession with clay quickly turned into a business and is now my sole source of income.

I make handmade pottery: think mugs, bowls, plates, magnets, pet dishes, wall decor, and planters. Little trinkets to brighten you or your customer’s day. My most popular line is my Mantra Mugs. I consider my Mantra Mugs my journal outlet on clay. Most of the inspiring or motivational messages I stamp onto my Mantra collection are straight from my journal pages. I figure, if I need to be reminded of the nuggets of gold in word form, so does the rest of the world. All of my work is customizable and I supply direct to customers for their homes, as well as businesses and restaurants in bulk at wholesale pricing.

I also offer to Make your Own Pottery and Paint your Own Pottery to customers at a great value. For $25, customers get to make their own pottery (using the pinch pot method). This $25 covers the supplies, glaze colors, kiln firing, as well as my instruction time. The price of up to $35 is only charged when I need to cover an event space fee. My goal is to keep it as accessible as possible to all those interested in creating with clay!

I want the clay world to be one that’s easy to dive into. Most ceramic studios charge $100 plus for classes and you have to commit multiple weeks for lessons. This is wonderful if you are certain you’d like to move forward in the ceramics world. However, if you’re just trying to figure out if you like it or not, it can be a lot to commit to in terms of finances and time.

I’ll be honest – if I didn’t have access to a pottery class via a Groupon years ago, I never would have known how much I love working with this media.

I host workshops at local businesses and coffee shops, am trying to get into the local school districts for after-school programs, and host private parties. I call myself the traveling potter. I come to you and bring everything you need to have a clay party with your friends, family, or community! My goal is to get as many hands in clay as possible.

I feel truly blessed that I get to do this work every day. Sharing clay with others and watching their faces and hearts light up as they are creating is such a gift. Knowing that my handmade clay babies are out in the world being enjoyed and reminding others of their strength feeds me in more ways than I can explain. I’m so beyond grateful that this is my life.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Although my work is fun and extremely fulfilling, it hasn’t all be sunshine and rainbows. I was holding a full-time position for 8 years with a stable salary up to the middle of 2022. Fill Ceramics was my part-time business up to the point of getting laid off from that company at the end of June.

What a mental and emotional roller coaster getting laid off is! I knew I had a great thing going with my pottery business, but I battled (and still do on a daily) the deep, deep downs of low self-esteem. The confusion of imposter syndrome. The question of “am I a good enough artist?” and “can I REALLY sustain this to pay my rent and support my family?”

Running a business when you don’t have a steady source of income to rely on can be tricky! I have nothing but respect for my fellow business owners! I am familiar with profit margins, marketing budgets, and other business concepts from my previous job – but I learned very quickly that I wasn’t applying any of that to my own business before I was full-time.

Understanding how hard of a road was ahead of me once I became full-time was wonderfully overwhelming. I make sure to manage my mental health through it all by doing weekly coffee/tea dates and facetime calls with fellow small business owners who know what this world is like. I think it’s so necessary to build a strong tribe around you to help you get through the inevitable ups and downs as a business owner.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I feel like I put all of my heart into every piece of pottery I create. I also pour my whole heart into each of my students, whether they are 4 years old or 84.

I strongly believe everyone was born creative and I LOVE reminding people who don’t believe they are that they can do anything! My favorite is meeting someone at the beginning of a workshop who tells me “this isn’t going to come out great” and at the end of our time together, they’ve created one of their most beautiful things I’ve ever seen with their two hands and a few tools.

I’m all for reminding others of their magic because I know all too well how easy it is to forget!

What matters most to you?
It’s extremely important to me that people feel like they’re home when they come into my booth space or join my workshops/private parties. I want to shine my light so that it gives others permission to do the same – creating with clay is just one way of doing that. For years, I didn’t allow myself to be seen as an artist. I hid my desire to create because I thought I wouldn’t succeed in this world. I want others to feel seen and to have a space to shine through their art.

As cheesy as it is, I believe we really are all the same. Unique, but the same. At the end of the day, we all want to feel like we belong, to be a part of something bigger, and to be loved. I desire so deeply to create a space that allows others to feel this way. To create a space where they feel as proud of themselves as artists as I do after I create work from my own hands.

There’s something so special about working with clay. I can make something usable and beautiful out of a ball of clay. JUST SOME FANCY DIRT AND WATER. Even years into my craft, it’s still mind-blowing to me. It’s important to me that others feel that magic, and allow themselves to be artists, too.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/fill_ceramics