Meet Erica Williams | Owner of THrō Ceramics

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from a small town in east Texas called Hemphill, I lived there for almost 30 years and then after my wife and I got married we moved to Galveston.

My grandparents were a very big part of my wanting to be a business owner. I started working with them when I was 12 and before I graduated high school I knew I wanted to take over the business.

Living and growing up in a very small town where everyone knew everyone. There were’t a lot of options for exciting work. And honestly, the thought of moving never crossed my mind. I loved how quiet the place was, I loved to go fishing with my dad and I loved being able to see my family at any time I wanted. There truly was no other option for me except to work for myself.

When I was little, my dad was in a really bad car accident that paralyzed him and it changed our life. Big time! His doctor told him he would never walk again because of the breaks he had in his back. He ended up walking out of the hospital. My mom worked 3 jobs and put herself through college. While my dad put himself into his own physical therapy doing all the things he did before his accident. Working on tractors, welding, going fishing, hunting, all the yard work that needed to be done, everything imaginable that was an outside physical activity. It was quiet fascinating to watch. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my mom did everything she could to make sure I had everything I needed growing up.

My parents were hard workers and they didn’t let our circumstances stop them from getting up every single day and going after what they wanted.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I’m most proud of is keeping things had made. I’ve almost changed my production process several times to using moulds, but I love the process too much. Seasons of life when you’re really tired and overworked. It’s really easy to want to switch to something that could make the process easier or faster, but every time I attempted it. I didn’t love it. Which made me realize that I’m truly in love with the process of clay. The work that it takes to make 100’s of pieces at a time, the babysitting. All of it. It’s my favorite thing to do even when I don’t want to do it. I’ve been working for myself since I was 12 and I can honestly say, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. After a while, there’s going to be parts you don’t love. So find the thing that you love so much, you don’t mind doing even when you’re tired. It’s about the process of bringing it to life and the end result.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Ha! Honestly, my favorite place on the island is our backyard. There’s palm trees and a hammock and many naps have been taken in the shade under those trees. Any time our friends come to stay, this is where we spend most of our time. The kids play in the backyard while we sit around the fire, My wife is my favorite chef, so we grill and catch up over a few beers with anyone that comes to visit. The only thing we don’t have in our backyard is the beach, so we do sneak away for a fun beach day from time to time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Most definitely my family, I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.

Website: https://throceramics.com

Instagram: @throceramics

Image Credits
Samantha Wiley