My Story: From the 9-to-5 Loop to Handcrafted Ceramics

The Corporate Loop

After graduation, I marched straight into the corporate loop—not out of passion, but to chase student loans. Work, home, paycheck, credit cards, bills. Repeat. Day after day, I felt my vitality draining away, yet I didn’t know how to catch it. I was living like a piece of uprooted duckweed, drifting with no sense of belonging. On my 30th birthday, as the candle flickered, I finally found the courage to stop the loop. I didn't just want a new job; I wanted to find my Root.

The Encounter

I resigned. But as I walked the streets, a new cloud of confusion settled in: What now? Perhaps it was grace, but a red light held me still in front of a small pottery studio. Through the window, I saw hands focused on spinning wheels, rows of modest raw clay, and finished pieces glowing with life after their journey through fire and glaze. Just like that, I walked in. I began to learn how to connect with the earth using nothing but my bare hands.

The Trial by Mud

Every beginner knows the "pain" of wheel throwing: the clay collapsing, the forms wobbling, the constant struggle of Centering. I doubted myself many times. Could these clumsy hands, once only fit for a keyboard, ever shape something of beauty? But with every tiny bit of progress, I felt a spark of my life force returning. I embraced the "trial by mud." Three years later, pottery has become inseparable from my soul. I love the feeling of shaping life with my own living hands—even with the flaws, even with the failures.

The Fire Within

What is the magic of ceramics? My dear, never forget: it was once just a lump of mud. I watched a shapeless piece of earth transform. It required a patience I didn’t know I possessed, and a gentleness I had long forgotten in the corporate grind. Then came the fire. Watching the kiln glow, I realized that life, like clay, must pass through intense heat to find its strength. When my first mug emerged—imperfect but real—something inside me ignited.

Why ROOT24STUDIO?

I started ROOT24STUDIO to share that fire with every friend—those I know, those I’ve just met, and those I have yet to meet. I chose "ROOT" because we all need an anchor to ground us, and "24" because beauty should be a part of every hour of our day.

Find Your Cozy

You don’t have to quit your job or endure a long season of hardship to find yourself, as I did. For those who have already walked the path, we offer our hearts as a gift. Sometimes, you just need to lean into a story, breathe, and hold onto something real.

May your coffee be warm, and your day be rooted.