My pottery journey began with a three hour intro class at a local pottery studio. After that class, I wanted to make a great mug and I thought the fastest way to learn was to make 100 of them, over and over again.

Pottery is a multi-step process. I learned how to throw, to trim, to dry my pieces properly, to attach handles, and to glaze. 

Most importantly though, I learned how to fail. It's pretty easy to get attached to a piece, especially when it takes a long time to make one. 

Going to 100 taught me to keep going, to look at a piece, to see what I can do better, to iterate and to make another one that is marginally better than the last.

After the initial 100 mugs, I focused on finding a clay and glaze that looked good and performed well. 

I wanted to make a mug that had grooves for your fingers and a nice lip that spooned the drink into your mouth. After many failed attempts, I made something that I'm really proud of. 

You see can every single iteration photographed below. I also documented myself making a short for each and every mug, which you can watch here on YouTube. 

There are only 50 of the final mugs that were made and sold. 

Photos by Ethan Chiem