Meet Rachel Om | Potter & Transportation Planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Om and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, how do you think about risk?
I was drawn to this question because this question made me realize I’ve never really contemplated if I’m a risk-averse or risk …positive(?) person. I hesitate to use the term “risky” or “brave” as the opposite of being risk-averse because I don’t think those are necessarily the two options when thinking about life and career decisions. Maybe this perspective means I’m closer to the risk-averse side of the spectrum, which is probably true; I think I’d say I take calculated risks. Growing up, I took what some people would consider the “traditional” path of focusing on getting good grades to go to college. I honestly never considered there was another option/direction in life. I do want to acknowledge it’s a privilege to have had the opportunity to go to college, and I’m appreciative of the sacrifices and support of my parents to help me get there. When I got to college, however, I realized I didn’t really know what I was interested in because my focus had only been on the end goal of getting into college. I eventually found a strong interest in sustainability and transportation planning, which is the field I pursued a job in after college and is my full-time job today. Many jobs in transportation planning involve sitting in front of a computer for most of the day, and after a year of working, I found myself feeling kind of empty and like my life was really one-dimensional. It’s been such a long time now, so I can’t quite remember how I found pottery – might have been from scrolling through Groupon – but as many potters will tell you, I took one class, and I was hooked. I very quickly developed the dream (like many do) of wishing I could be a full-time potter so I could spend the day sitting in front of a wheel rather than a computer. If you’ve ever tried pottery, you know it’s very physical and more significantly, a relatively expensive activity. My parents immigrated to the U.S. so, understandably, financial stability/security are values that strongly shape my decision-making. There are a lot more details and life between the start of my pottery journey and today, but to finally answer the question, I’ve taken incremental and calculated risks to grow my pottery practice from a hobby to a serious hobby that is slowly, with many starts and stops, growing and evolving as a small business. Since the pandemic in 2020, I’ve seen a lot of people share their decision and journey online (i.e. Instagram) of quitting their jobs to become full-time potters. Seeing those announcements, I’ve felt and still often feel jealous and not “good enough” to make it as a full-time potter. However, I also know I don’t feel comfortable or ready to make that decision for my life, which ultimately, I know is okay, but the internet FOMO is real! I still want pottery to continue growing its presence in my life so the most recent [calculated] risk I took was switching to a new job (still in transportation planning) that is less grueling and demanding than my previous job but admittedly less interesting and engaging. This new job also has less career growth opportunities than my previous job, so I feel like I shifted to a plateau after several years of fairly intense career growth. As you might imagine, with my achievement/goal-oriented background, this decision has required some emotional processing (still working on it). When I shared my mixed feelings about this decision with a few close friends, they made a fantastic reframing that I gave myself a life promotion, and I really love that. This all happened fairly recently, so I’m starting to emerge from burnout and have been enjoying the additional time and energy I have to grow my pottery practice.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
The adjective most people use when they describe my pottery is “cute,” and I’d say that description is spot on and the aesthetic I generally gravitate towards in life. My current pottery pieces are primarily functional pieces (cups/mugs, plates, vases/planters) thrown on the wheel and then decorated with underglaze, which is essentially like painting on pottery. My favorite motif for the last 1-2 years has been flowers, either really blobby flowers or teeny tiny flowers, in various bright colors (red, blue, pink, purple). When I first started pottery, I was making at a studio that fired at a higher temperature (cone 10 for the potters out there), so my pottery aesthetic was quite different, and I probably would have characterized my style as more minimalist and cozy because I used a toasty brown-colored clay glazed in neutral/muted colors (cream, brown, black). I was also a beginner potter so I was trying a variety of clays, shapes, and glazes, which I recommend for anyone starting out in pottery. Now I make my pottery at my home studio and fire at a local studio (shout out to Clay in Long Beach!) but hope to have a kiln of my own someday. While pottery is not my primary source of income (at the moment?), I made a significant push in 2022 to grow my pottery practice to see if I had potential to make the jump as a full-time potter. I spent many hours in the studio after work and on the weekends, participated in pop-up markets, and connected with several shops in my area for mini wholesale orders. Everything I made had the lens of “I think this is what people will like and buy,” which created high expectations and pressure for each pop-up market. If you ask any small business, especially creative/handmade small business, about pop-up markets, the reality is there are so many factors, such as if the audience is the right fit, the weather, and other competing events, that are often out of your control. Despite knowing this, I couldn’t help but feel pretty low after markets that didn’t go as well as I hoped and took that as a sign that I wasn’t good enough to make it as a full-time potter. I grew and learned a lot, but I went into 2023 quite burned out and felt myself pulling back from even doing pottery at all. I did a few pop-up markets in 2023, but I ended up spending most of my pottery-related time working on getting my pottery business set up in an official capacity (e.g. registering as an LLC and figuring out taxes) because those sorts of administrative tasks are less daunting for me. I’m still invested and interested in continuing to grow my pottery practice, but I go back and forth between wanting to become a full-time potter and continuing to work a separate job that allows me to remove the pressure to sell from my creative practice. This is a journey I’ll continue to explore, and I hope my experience is helpful for other folks who are looking to find the balance that works for them in a social media/internet landscape where the more exciting and catchy/viral stories are about making the jump into full-time (which I know is a result of so much hard work and ongoing dedication!).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Unless you’re familiar with Orange County, most people have not heard of Seal Beach, which is a small coastal city in between the better known cities of Long Beach and Huntington Beach. Walking around Old Town Seal Beach, especially Main Street and the pier is a cute and quaint experience; if you’ve played the latest Animal Crossing, it feels a bit like walking around your island. In the morning, coffee is a must for me, and some of my favorite spots are Luv Collective in Sunset/Huntington Beach and Colossus Bakery and Stereoscope in the Belmont Shores neighborhood of Long Beach. On Sundays, I like to go to the Marina Farmers Market in Long Beach, which has a wide variety of fresh produce and a booth that sells delicious pupusas. My favorite places to eat (too many to list here) are in Garden Grove, Westminster, Cerritos and Buena Park, which have a lot of delicious Asian restaurants. Clearly, eating is a top priority and activity for me. I might squeeze in a museum or botanical garden visit, but my favorite way to hang out with friends is to just eat good food, walk around, and catch up.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to start my shoutout to my parents who raised me with love, support, discipline, and sacrifice. They definitely had a role in shaping my work ethic. I also want to give a shoutout to my husband, who has been a constant source of support throughout not only my pottery journey but overall in life. He was also my first Etsy customer :’) and has provided hours of free labor helping me at pop-up markets.

Website: www.ropottery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ro_pottery/

Image Credits
My profile photo was taken by Blake Williams. The photo of my cups on the shelves was taken by Hannah Edmondson. All other photos were taken by me or vendor friends.