Alexandra Cadiz and Micah Blyckert of Ceramicah

A typical day for us is making orders in the studio. Micah is in charge of the entire production flow, so he throws pieces, trims, glazes, manages the kiln, etc with the help of our assistants. Meanwhile, I split my time between business operations and studio tasks, doing emails in the morning then packing orders for shipping and plastering lamps in the afternoon. Every day is different and can sometimes be stressful. But on the best days, we are blasting music and all vibing out together while we work.

We have always been drawn to art and design that balances elegant, minimal forms with textural, organic finishes. This is found in a lot of Japanese art, which is what inspired our Shino and Raku collections. Both the Shino and Raku finishes are rooted in ancient Japanese ceramic techniques, but feel modern when married with the simple, sleek proportions of the Tera Lamp.

Neither of us grew up in LA, so our friends here are like our extended family and some of them are actually our neighbors. We live in a historical courtyard Spanish building and during the pandemic we were all stuck together, so we would hang out every night, have movie nights in the courtyard, celebrate birthdays and holidays together and just really take care of each other. It’s rare to find something like that in a big city and we are very thankful to be surrounded by such genuine, supportive people.

We’ve actually been to Mexico six times in the past year, including a trip for our wedding and honeymoon, so yes it’s very special to us. We particularly love Mérida, Mexico City and Cuixmala, which is one of the most gorgeous and inspiring places we’ve ever been. Hopefully our next trip will be a ceramics tour through Jalisco, Michoacán and Oaxaca. Here in LA our go-to neighborhood spots are Lolo, Mirate and Cara. We love a good mezcal cocktail & ceviche, or an old fashioned with steak and pasta.

Staying present can be hard sometimes when growing a business that is still in the very beginning and requires constant care and attention. There have been a lot of times this year we felt like we were dog paddling, just trying to keep up. So when we face challenges like that, what keeps us most present and grounded is actually each other. Since we both ran businesses separately before Ceramicah, we know how insanely difficult it is to do it alone and don’t take our partnership for granted. We make sure to show appreciation for each other, communicate honestly and remind one another to have fun and enjoy the process because we are truly so lucky to get to make our art for a living and share it with the world.