Our Story

How a small studio found its rhythm

Reese Lansangan Studio started with one wheel, borrowed kiln time, and a notebook of failed glaze tests. The catalog you browse today grew out of those early firings, and the way we work now still follows the same logic: keep the team small, keep the records honest, and let each piece carry the marks of the hands that made it.

First firings

Learning from the seconds shelf

The first two years were mostly test tiles. Glaze runs, pinholing, and warped rims taught us which clay bodies held a foot ring and which recipes pooled the way we wanted. Those failures became the reference shelf we still pull from before every kiln load.

Growing the bench

Adding hands, not volume

A part-time trimmer joined to handle foot rings and mug handles. Later, a studio assistant took over weighing clay and wedging reclaimed scraps. We added people instead of speeding up the wheel, which kept consistency tight across each run.

Kiln weeks

Glazing as a team task

During kiln weeks, everyone shifts to glazing and waxing. We check speckle density and pooling on test tiles before committing a full load, so a run that sells out usually sold out because the glaze broke the way we hoped, not because we pushed it.

Rotation

Everyone packs and labels

Packing, measuring dimensions, and writing collection labels by hand rotate through the whole team. It slows the last step down, but it means whoever boxed a piece can still trace it back to the wedging table and the glaze bucket it came from.

Records

The notebook stays open

Every clay body, glaze family, and firing result goes into the same notebook Reese started with. When a run sells out, the notes explain why: a glaze that finally pooled right, a clay that trimmed cleanly, or a shape that simply worked better in the hand.

Why small

Fewer hands, tighter runs

Staying small is a decision, not a limitation. Fewer makers on a run means fewer variables between the first mug and the last, and it keeps the studio close enough that every piece can be traced from wedging to the final wipe-down before it leaves the shelf.

Studio Hands

The people behind each firing

A small crew keeps the work consistent from wedging to the final wipe-down. Here is who does what, and how the week actually moves through the studio.

Wheel and glaze

Reese Lansangan

Leads every throwing session and keeps the glaze notebook: clay bodies, recipe families, and how each load came out of the kiln. Most mug runs start and end at this bench.

Trimming

Part-time trimmer

Comes in on mug weeks to cut foot rings and pull handles. Trimming happens at leather-hard, so timing matters more than speed on those days.

Prep and shelves

Studio assistant

Weighs clay, wedges reclaimed scraps back into usable blocks, and loads the bisque shelves. Also measures finished pieces before they get a collection label.

Kiln weeks

Glazing rotation

During firing weeks the whole team shifts to glazing and waxing. Speckle density and pooling get checked on test tiles before a full load is committed.

Labels and packing

Shared bench work

Everyone rotates through packing, measuring dimensions, and writing collection labels by hand. Fewer hands on purpose, so a run stays consistent and traceable.

Why small

A tighter circle, a steadier run

Keeping the crew small means each maker can trace a piece from wedging to final wipe-down. Consistency comes from repetition, not volume.

See the studio method

Studio Timeline

How the studio grew, one firing at a time

Reese Lansangan Studio did not arrive fully formed. It started with a borrowed wheel, shared kiln time, and a notebook of glaze tests that mostly failed. The milestones below trace the slow build: the first steady mug run, the week the speckle recipe finally held, and the point where a second pair of hands joined the bench.

Spring 2019

A borrowed wheel and a rented kiln shelf

Reese threw the first twenty mugs in a shared community studio, wedging reclaimed clay by hand and firing in whatever shelf space opened up. Most of that run cracked at the rim. The surviving cups became the template for the morning cup shape still used today.

Late 2020

The oat speckle glaze finally held

After roughly forty test tiles, the oat speckle recipe stopped pinholing and started breaking cleanly over the rim. That glaze family now anchors the morning cup collection, and the original test tiles still sit on the studio shelf as a reference for speckle density.

Mid 2021

A part-time trimmer joins the bench

Foot rings and pulled handles were eating the throwing hours. Bringing in a part-time trimmer let Reese stay on the wheel through a full mug run, and the studio started releasing consistent batches of twelve to twenty pieces instead of scattered singles.

Early 2022

The deep teal recipe moves to slab work

The teal glaze had been a bowl-only finish until a slab-built serving plate came out of the kiln with the glaze pooling dark where the walls met the base. That result pushed the studio toward slab-built forms, and the serving plate line grew from there.

Autumn 2023

The seconds shelf becomes a real collection

Pieces with a glaze run, a slight warp, or a kiln kiss used to sit in a box under the bench. Documenting each flaw in the listing turned that box into the seconds collection, and the planter sets sold out on the first restock.

Now

Three makers, one kiln week

The team stays deliberately small: Reese on throwing and glaze testing, a trimmer on foot rings and handles, and a studio assistant weighing clay and loading bisque shelves. During kiln weeks everyone shifts to glazing, waxing, and checking speckle on test tiles before a full load goes in.