Today we’d like to introduce you to Ron Hellmann
Hi ron, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Ron – I’ve always been a “maker”. Even as a child I felt the need to create things – whether it was clothes, food, jewelry, art… If I wanted something I would figure out a way to make it myself. My mother was an artist and my father was an engineer and inventor, so that was always encouraged, but it wasn’t until taking a jewelry making class during my second year at university that I had the realization that I didn’t want to study medicine; I needed to find a way to make art for a living. The next semester I dropped all my pre-med classes (without telling my parents) and re-enrolled in the arts program at my school. This led to a career in production designing for tv and film.
Adi – We both come from a background in film production, working as an art director and production designer – and we continue to take on film projects. Working in film production can be creative, but you have so many other people involved making decisions about every detail of your work. Ceramics began for both of us as a hobby – something we could do together that was purely creative without having to consider other people’s input or opinions. The problem with a ceramics hobby is you end up with a lot of pottery! You can only give so much of it away to friends and family. We began selling at local craft fairs really as a way to clear out our growing body of work. A few friends with retail stores began carrying our pieces and as we sold more we realized we had inadvertently started a business. Our first big break came when Le Bon Marche in Paris contacted us about carrying our line for a pop-up exhibit featuring Los Angeles artisans. They ordered a few hundred pieces and that really jump started our business.
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?
Ron – Covid hit about 2 years after we started selling and we figured that was the end of our business! We quit our community studio and moved our pottery wheels into our garage and began working from home. Surprisingly, orders began to come in more frequently and our business actually grew exponentially. Turns out a lot of people were just stuck in their houses bored, shopping online and decided to redecorate!
Adi – As the business grew and Covid waned we realized we had outgrown our garage and needed a studio space. We looked for about a year before finding the perfect space in Pasadena on Allen avenue. It was really challenging finding a space that fit our needs and a landlord that was willing to allow us to install the kilns we needed on the property. We are very grateful we ended up in Pasadena, it’s been a great fit for us!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about MH STUDIO?
We are a small ceramics manufacturer located in Pasadena CA. We design and make handmade ceramics home decor items that are sold through interior designers and retail stores all over the US and Canada. We make everything either on the wheel or by hand. Nothing is molded or fabricated outside our studio.
We are most known for our “stash jars”. Large knobbed lidded jars that come in 5 different sizes and a variety of colors, but we also manufacture lamps, bowls, trays, vases, and many other items for the kitchen and home.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
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Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mizrahi-hellmann.com
- Instagram: @m.h.ceramics
