OM Quiet Studio

26 years of professional life. Several completely different chapters. And apparently, I’m still curious enough to start another one.

Looking back, I don’t think I ever had one clear plan for what my professional life was supposed to look like. Some things lasted for years, some led me somewhere completely unexpected, and some parts of my work are still very much with me today.

And then, two years ago, there was something completely unexpected — handmade ceramic business.

At first, simply because I wanted to make something with my hands again. Then came more practice, more experiments, markets, my little studio, and now ceramics school.

I still work with entrepreneurs. I still run educational projects. And at the same time, I can spend hours thinking about the shape of a cup, testing a glaze or painting tiny fish on ceramics. :)

I don’t know yet how big a part of my life ceramics will eventually become. And perhaps I don’t need to know.

And I’m quite curious to see what the next few years will look like. 🤍

Life doesn’t feel particularly easy these days.

I know that from my own experience. I’m building a life in a new country while part of my family is still in Ukraine. I’m starting a new business, studying something completely new myself, watching my daughter find her way through university abroad, and worrying about my mum and my family.

And, of course, there are all the ordinary things too — work, money, plans, responsibilities, and the endless stream of news from a world that often feels anything but stable.

I don’t think we can simply switch all of that off. But I do think we can find our own small ways of dealing with it.

One of mine is making the little world around me a bit nicer.

Bringing flowers home. Being outside. Drinking coffee from a cup I really love. Making things with my hands and surrounding myself with objects that feel personal rather than anonymous.

It doesn’t change what’s happening in the world. And it doesn’t make the difficult things disappear.

But it changes the little world I live in every day. And sometimes that really helps.

Є речі, які точно варті окремого посту. І ця — одна з них. 🤍

Я нарешті отримала свою Carta de Artesão — офіційне визнання мого статусу ремісниці в Португалії.

Те, що починалося з цікавості, поступово стало великою частиною мого життя — навчанням, нескінченними експериментами, помилками, першими маркетами, онлайн-магазинами, новими колекціями і бажанням ставати кращою у своїй справі.

Особливо приємно отримати це визнання саме тут, у Португалії — країні, де фактично й почався мій шлях у кераміці.

Тож сьогодні дозволю собі просто порадіти цьому маленькому, але дуже важливому для мене досягненню. 🥹🤍

Продовжую вчитися. Продовжую робити. І, здається, все більше можу називати себе ceramic artist без внутрішнього «а чи маю я право?» :)

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Some things really do deserve a post of their own. And this is one of them. 🤍

I finally received my Carta de Artesão — official recognition of my status as an artisan in Portugal.

It may look like just a little card, but for me, there’s so much behind it. What started with curiosity about clay has slowly become such a big part of my life — learning, endless experiments, mistakes, first markets, first online stores, new collections, and a constant desire to get better at what I do.

It feels especially meaningful to receive this recognition here in Portugal — the country where my ceramics journey truly began.

So today I’m simply letting myself be happy about this small but very important milestone. 🥹🤍

Still learning. Still making. And, little by little, feeling more confident calling myself a ceramic artist without that little voice asking, “Am I really allowed to say that?” :)

Usually I make my pieces by hand, and one of the things that genuinely makes me happiest is seeing them being used in real life.

I love beautiful objects, of course, but I love them even more when they’re not just there to look pretty — when they become part of someone’s everyday life.

Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to making things for the table: cups you reach for in the morning, plates you serve something delicious on, little bowls that somehow always find their purpose. Or vases that look lovely on their own, but feel completely different once you fill them with fresh flowers. 🌿

I think anyone who makes things by hand knows this feeling. You spend so much time with an object while creating it, and then one day it leaves you and finds a new home — and starts its own little life there.

And I genuinely love seeing that.

So if you have one of my pieces at home, show me how you use it in the comments — I’d really love to see. 🤍

And even if it’s not mine: what handmade piece have you bought recently that you really love?

There’s something about this little set that makes me smile. 🐟

For the decoration, I used AMACO underglaze pencils instead of my usual brushes. I really love the texture they leave — the lines aren’t perfectly smooth or precise, and the little fish almost look like they’ve been drawn with colored chalk.

It gives the whole set a slightly playful, almost childlike feeling. And I think that’s exactly what makes it so sweet. 🤍

Definitely a technique I want to keep exploring. Є щось у цьому сеті, що щоразу викликає в мене усмішку. 🐟

Для декору цього разу я використала підглазурні олівці AMACO замість звичних пензликів. Мені дуже подобається текстура, яку вони залишають — лінії виходять не зовсім рівними й точними, а маленькі рибки виглядають так, ніби їх намалювали кольоровою крейдою.

Через це весь комплект вийшов трохи грайливим, навіть «няшним». 🤍 #хендмейдкераміка

Точно хочу ще поекспериментувати з цією технікою.