Esme Lei is thecreativegeneralist

With a background in graphic design and a passion for interior design, Esme uses clay as a part of her creative vocabulary.

Looped in by Allison Asis

I’m Esme Lei, the founder and potter of Common Goods Pottery. I’ve been working as a full-time potter since 2018. But I’d like to consider myself a creative generalist. Besides being a potter, I’m also a permanent makeup artist, an aspiring piercer and interior design geek.

In your opinion, what makes someone 'a creative'?

The willingness to observe and feel the world around them. And the ability to articulate their emotions in their own creative language, be it through paint, sound, movement, clay, words, etc. 

What's one unexpected place where you find inspiration?

The curb on garbage days.

What are you most passionate about?

Getting to create unscripted pieces that highlight the characteristics of the clay bodies. In recent years, I’ve been developing my own pottery tools out of frustration. 

What's one piece of advice that changed your life?

It’s never too late to start learning something new.

In another life, I would have been…

A surfer.

"Besides being a potter, I’m also a permanent makeup artist, an aspiring piercer and interior design geek."

What do you love most about being a creative?

Turn an intangible feeling or idea into something physical and tangible.

What do you wish more people knew about you?

That I’m not just my curated self they see on social media. I have stress, I feel sad, and sometimes I try very hard and still fail. And that’s okay.

If you could create something to make the world a better place, what would that be?

A free accessible therapy program.

"It’s never too late to start learning something new."

Who is inspiring you
right now?

Léa & Nicolas
@lea__nicolas

Léa Behr and Nicolas Hoang is a Quebec based ceramic duo. Their practice explores both the sculptural and functional aspects of everyday objects with an aesthetic coming from a desire to make objects elegant and tactile.

Léa Behr and Nicolas Hoang is a Quebec based ceramic duo. Their practice explores both the sculptural and functional aspects of everyday objects with an aesthetic coming from a desire to make objects elegant and tactile.

Samuel Kwan
@createdfor.thecreator

Samuel is a Toronto-based woodworker/craftsman. Sam designs and fabricates heirloom furnitures and home goods. He repurposes scraps and offcuts that would often be overlooked. Inspired by the Japanese craft of boro patchwork, these rescued materials are turned into geometric inlays that gives his furniture pieces a “patchwork” look.

Samuel is a Toronto-based woodworker/craftsman. Sam designs and fabricates heirloom furnitures and home goods. He repurposes scraps and offcuts that would often be overlooked. Inspired by the Japanese craft of boro patchwork, these rescued materials are turned into geometric inlays that gives his furniture pieces a “patchwork” look.

JJ Smolkin
@jjsmolkin

JJ is a Toronto Based painter. He creates intricate and bright abstract paintings that are made through hand-cutting hundreds of stencils and laying down texturized paint. Looking at one of his abstract pieces is like taking an acid trip. Besides the abstract work, he also creates pop art paintings that evoke nostalgia and highlight the absurdity of how much our value and childhood memories are impacted by consumerism.

JJ is a Toronto Based painter. He creates intricate and bright abstract paintings that are made through hand-cutting hundreds of stencils and laying down texturized paint. Looking at one of his abstract pieces is like taking an acid trip. Besides the abstract work, he also creates pop art paintings that evoke nostalgia and highlight the absurdity of how much our value and childhood memories are impacted by consumerism.

Kim Francisco
@paraluman.flora

Kim is a Toronto-based multi-disciplinary creative. I was first drawn to her by her whimsical and bright floral arrangements. In a world of neutral and pastel aesthetic, her bright neon arrangements look like they’re straight out of an alternative universe.

Kim is a Toronto-based multi-disciplinary creative. I was first drawn to her by her whimsical and bright floral arrangements. In a world of neutral and pastel aesthetic, her bright neon arrangements look like they’re straight out of an alternative universe.

What are you loving right now?

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