Meet Sara Ekua Todd of Ekua Ceramics in Long Beach

Sara, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I randomly kinda got into ceramics. In 2015, I joined a friend of mine for a 2 hour intro class and I really got into it. Then I signed up for a month long workshop and loved every moment of it. After that, I decided to become a member at Clay in Long Beach and slowly built my craft. I started a little online shop and worked on small local and personal orders. In 2017, I think I figured out my style and came out with my first “collection.” I had a few pop ups afterwards and in 2018, a lot of things changed. I started reaching out to a bunch of retail shops all over the U.S. because I wanted to start getting more into wholesale. At the same time, my friend Kyle Ng from Brain Dead reached out to me to do a collaboration. And it’s been non-stop for me ever since then. I started to think to myself that I could actually do this for a living. Nowadays, I mostly do only collaborations and wholesale.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been mostly a smooth road. I feel like I got lucky doing the collab with Brain Dead and things just kinda have been rolling since then. I think my biggest struggle at the moment is finding a perfect space for doing production. Right now, I’m kinda in-between a community space and getting my own studio. And I’m looking for something within the next year.

Please tell us about Ekua Ceramics.
I make ceramics under “Ekua” which is my Ghanaian middle name that means I was born on a Wednesday. Right now, I mostly do functional work like drinkware and dinnerware, but I’m currently working on doing more larger home decor and furniture—at least that’s the plan for 2020! I’m proud to say that I do everything by hand (with the occasional help on larger orders.) I think my use of color and shapes is what helps set me apart. I also have a very minimal approach. I mostly like things to look clean. But I’m also not a crazy perfectionist so there’s still some soul left in my work.

Recently, I did an ashtray with Bodega for their Art Basel popup shop. And last September, I made a planter for Object Permanence Edition 3 at Casa Perfect. I kinda freaked out about that one! But I guess I’m mostly known for doing the Brain Dead stuff, which I love doing.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think ceramics are here to stay, at least for the next 5-10 years. I think people appreciate handmade things. Trends are ever-changing but classics are here to stay.