Pigeon Toe

I got this quirky little guy at Pigeon Toe Ceramics while visiting their shop in Portland this weekend. I spoke with the owner, Lisa Jones, and could relate to her experience of getting into ceramics because she missed working with things she could actually feel and touch versus pure graphic design which is mostly screen-based. I definitely have that inclination with my own work -- working with both the physical and digital. I also find myself really identifying with the work produced by once-graphic designers who end up making other things that range from clothes to bowls. There is always a cleanliness of line that you'll observe.

Pigeon Toe's shop consists of a studio at the back and shop in front. It's my dream to have something like that, especially for the studio space. Actually, even just the workspace, and making my own stuff to sell. Taking orders, packing things up, designing the website and everything else that goes into setting up my own little shop. I've taken a ceramics course before and I enjoyed learning it, but probably only came out with one piece I was happy about. I spent the rest of the time making cylinders that I was "required" to do. I wish I hadn't followed that. But now I know, in order to actually sell them, I need to come up with a collection, and not just one lonely little piece. And I definitely want to use porcelain and custom colored glazes. Now I just need to do some research...

Anyone know...
1.) How to make custom colored glazes and where to get materials
2.) Ceramics studio space (shared) for rent in Los Angeles area, more specifically, in the Valley? I live in Valencia, in the suburbs north of the Valley, so the closer the better!

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the plant. It's a tislandia or air plant -- it absorbs nutrients from the air through its leaves, so no soil needed. I like how the tips of the plant have the same peachy pin color of the inside of the tripod pot. I got both of them from Pigeon Toe.