portfolio

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portfolio 🌺

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Michelle Sakai-Hart is an AAPI ceramicist located in Santa Barbara, CA where she lives with her husband and golden retriever, Katsu.

Since Michelle started her business in 2019, she has been a ceramics instructor, studio manager, and pottery studio technician in the Bay Area and Los Angeles for a number of studios including Good Dirt LA and Community School of Music and Art. Her formal background is in science education, where she taught as a classroom science teacher, advisor, and outdoor educator.. She received her Master of Arts in Education from Loyola Marymount University and her Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara.

Michelle currently runs her business part time and works full time as an Administrative Assistant for the Student and Community Services Division at Santa Barbara County Office of Education.

Interested in wholesale or a collaboration project with Michelle? Please contact Michelle here!

Michelle started her business in 2019, a little less than a year after taking her first pottery class. Her specialty is in creating functional wheel thrown ceramics that she hand paints and designs using a variety of colorful and bright underglazes and glazes. She has recently branched out and has started to make more sculptural forms, inspired and influenced by her Asian American heritage . She loves to create cute and happy designs and draws inspiration from her love of animation and by her memories of growing up by the beach. Although Michelle’s primary focus is pottery, she also offers other products in line with her ceramics designs, such as apparel, stickers, and pins.

Michelle proudly partners with other BIPOC, AAPI, or women owned businesses (listed below). You can find Michelle’s ceramics and goodies in San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, California


art shows

  • 2024: Kiln: Earthenware and Beyond at GR2 Art Gallery

  • 2023-2024: Giant Robot Store Group Shows (including Totoro, Kaiju, Plants & Flowers, and more)

  • 2021-2023: Small Wonders Art Show at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland

  • 2021-2023: Wonder Pets Art Show at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland

grants/scholarships awarded

  • May 2022 | Head West Marketplace: No Cost Community Booth Recipient

  • April 2020 | Mission Asset Fund: LA Creative Professionals Relief Fund Recipient

shop in stores

collaborations