In the studio
A workshop at the source
A hands-on session in my home studio: an introduction to clay in a small group, around the same table where every Studio Kokoro piece begins.
Small groups · all materials & firing included · on request
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by Michelle Vanmaele
Kokoro
In Japanese culture, it is believed that the kokoro (the heart, mind, and soul of the artisan) flows directly into their creation. Every handmade piece is fundamentally a tangible reflection of the maker's spirit and emotion
Studio Kokoro
The collections
Every piece is made by hand in my studio. Pick a collection to begin.
Gallery
A glimpse of earlier work. Every piece is one of a kind, but if something here speaks to you, a custom order is always possible.
Workshops
Slow moments around clay and colour, on request.
In the studio
A hands-on session in my home studio: an introduction to clay in a small group, around the same table where every Studio Kokoro piece begins.
Small groups · all materials & firing included · on request
Book →On location
I bring the cups, the paints and everything else to you. Gather friends around your own table, or let your favourite coffee bar book me for an afternoon. Every piece is glazed and fired in the studio, then delivered back to you.
At home or in your café · all materials included · fired & delivered afterwards
Book →
About
I have been drawn to ceramics for as long as I can remember. In Belgium there is a tradition of asking Sinterklaas for toys, and when I was seven I asked the good old man for a pottery wheel. At that age it was a complete failure, but the idea of clay quietly stayed with me.
At twenty-two I left the country and spent ten years abroad, working as a scuba diving instructor, a cruise director, and a ski and snowboard instructor. It was an adventurous life, and a full one. Somehow there was never time to start pottery.
Then Covid happened. I was forced to come back to Belgium, and it changed my life. I finally took that pottery class. Bit by bit I bought a wheel and everything that comes with it, and turned my old bedroom at my mother's house into a studio.
When the world opened up again I moved abroad once more, but every time I visited Belgium I spent as many hours in that room as I possibly could.
In June 2025 I came home for good, and everything accelerated. My own home studio is finally set up, better known to everyone as the garage. Alongside a demanding full-time job, it is the place where I come to rest.
I am still learning, and I hope I always will be. Every week I take classes at the academy in Leuven, where there is another technique or material to discover. Whatever I pick up there finds its way back to the garage.
Made with heart.
Workshops
Fill this in and your request lands straight in my inbox.
Custom order
Tell me what you have in mind. I will come back to you to talk it through before anything is made.
Everything is made by hand, one piece at a time, in a home studio. That shapes how a custom order works, and how long it takes. Here is what happens after you send your request.
How it works
Fill in the form below. It does not need to be worked out yet, a rough thought is enough to start from.
I read every request myself and come back to you by email, so we can talk through what is possible, what it would cost and when it could be ready.
Nothing goes into clay until we have both agreed on the piece, the price and the timing.
Shaped, dried slowly, glazed and fired twice. You hear from me when it comes out of the kiln.
Every order takes its own path
A piece from an existing design is the quickest route. The shape and the glaze are known, so we can go straight to making.
If you are after a shape or a colour that does not exist yet, I will invite you to the studio. Holding samples and talking it through in person gives me a far clearer picture of what you have in mind than words on a screen.
For restaurants and bigger series I make a prototype first. Once you have approved it, production starts.
How long it takes
Two to six months
Please count on two months at the very least, and up to six for larger or more involved work. Clay cannot be hurried: pieces need to dry slowly, and each one goes through the kiln twice. I work alone and in small batches, so I would rather be honest about the wait than promise something I cannot keep.
Good to know
Once we have agreed on the design, I ask for a deposit. For larger orders that moment comes when you have approved the prototype. The rest is settled when you collect the work.
I do not ship. Finished work is collected from the studio, or I bring it to you in person if that suits us both better. We arrange it once the pieces are out of the kiln.
Everything I make is food safe, dishwasher safe and fine in the microwave. These are pieces for the table, not for behind glass.
Because a custom piece is made specifically for you, the usual right to return does not apply. That is exactly why we take our time to get it right before anything is made.
Small differences in size, colour and surface are part of handmade work, not a flaw in it.
Send your request below ↓