Meet Karina Kudla | Aimee’s Handcrafts LLC

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

Hi Karina, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
The art of making handmade ceramics and teaching ceramic classes is my business, but first of all it is where my heart belongs. Art is a way to express my feelings. Through my art, I show things that I admire, enjoy, and respect. Ceramics are on my mind all the time and my handmade ceramic pieces represent not only how I see things, but who I am.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

There are three main aspects that define my style in the ceramic world. Being originally from Brazil influences how I embellish my ceramic pieces. I am constantly making my pieces colorful, with carved leaves, feathers, flowers, or some other aspect reflecting nature. As an example, my top seller collection is the Copacabana collection. The white background with black spots throughout the pieces mimic mountains of different shapes and sizes and make the pieces very interesting but simple. This collection connects the mountains of Brazil to the pattern of black and white marble sidewalks along the beach in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. https://www.instagram.com/p/CeFs2SLA5j8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Prior to becoming a ceramist, I had education and a career in the hospitality industry. This has a significant relevance on how I teach my classes and how I design my pieces. I like making people feel welcome and comfortable in my studio. I focus on teaching my classes in a pleasant way, where students will enjoy their moment of making, trimming, and glazing their pieces. I want them to have a memorable class. At the same time, I design and make ceramic pieces based on feedback that I’ve gotten about my current pieces or suggestions that somebody may have given me. The process of making ceramics is not only to enjoy creating something, but also to satisfy my customers.

The third aspect that I focus on is quality, durability, and functionality. I want my pieces to be strong and well-made to be used on a daily basis. I am constantly striving for perfection. As everything that I make is handmade, the pieces may be very similar to each other, but not identical. I personally use samples of the pieces I make to test their quality and durability. After that, I am ready to sell!

My biggest passion in ceramics is making tiles. Tiles tend to warp for different reasons, and to achieve the uniformity of each tile was a big challenge for me. Books, courses, videos, and lots of research helped me to learn how I should handle and make my handmade tiles. My current challenge has been to reach out to the niche of customers that would order handmade tiles, or to get custom orders. I love making different tiles with different sizes and shapes to fit areas as fireplaces, kitchen, and bathroom backsplashes, etc. My first tile project was in my own home and have received many positive comments from visitors that have seen my work. I am eager to make many more!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Houston is a very diverse city. While some of the population likes the city, others like the suburbs with big houses and gardens. The city has a great infrastructure that we can go to different areas of the city in a fairly easy way. I’ve lived in Houston for the past seventeen years. I like living here. People are nice, food is great, and you can do so many things.

A place that I’d love to take one of my friends is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I love those cowboy hats and boots, looking at the animals, talking to students that raised them, buying local crafts and going to the actual rodeo. The event is great! I cheer for all the activities that they have and enjoy a concert at the end. This is a place that I do like going every single year.

I also like driving around admiring the houses and gardens in the Heights area. The original houses in the Heights area are from the early to mid-20th century but have been kept in great condition or fully remodeled. Many of them are craftsman style with nice porches with beautiful gardens. It’s pleasant to walk along those streets and enjoy the architecture. Towards the end of the day a good place to go and grab some food and a drink would be at one of the many restaurants along White Oak Drive.

The Azalea Trail that happens at the River Oaks area is a beautiful place to enjoy nature and admire the beautiful architecture of the mansions located there. Every year, during spring when azaleas are in bloom, the public is invited to visit and see the gardens and homes. People can buy tickets and follow the itinerary of the event. Some places to visit include the gardens, parks and a few historic mansions.

A place that I’d go to have some brunch or lunch nearby would be at Empire Café. Their food is unique, and the atmosphere is very relaxing.
An amazing place to visit is the Museum of Natural Science. I’ve been there with my husband for a few special events and with our kids several times. The museum is so well structured with so many programs and exhibitions that we don’t have enough time to go to all exhibitions in a single day. Some of my favorite permanent exhibits include geology and the Texas Wildlife. A good place to eat nearby is Brasils in Montrose. It’s familiar and an eclectic place and I’ve been going there for almost two decades.

Malls… There are so many malls in Houston, but you can’t miss taking a friend to the largest mall in Texas: The Galleria. Stores for any age and style, dining for every taste, entertainment and much more can be explored for a whole day.

The Houston Zoo is definitely a great place to spend the day with friends or kids. The infrastructure and the diversity of animals and vegetation is great. They always have a schedule with different events for the day to keep the visitors interacting and learning about animals and habitats. One of my favorite exhibits at the Zoo is “Pantanal”. Couple years ago, my husband, my kids and I went to the actual Pantanal area in Brazil. While visiting this area of the zoo, we were astonished by how realistic the whole area was set up. We were happy to see the same animals, their habitats, and how well the exhibit represents the natural habitat of the animals. We never get tired of going to the Houston Zoo!

A great place to eat close by is Istanbul Grill & Deli. I have been going to this small restaurant since 2005. I love the quality and flavor of the food. It’s an authentic Turkish place with a pleasant atmosphere. You need to try it!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

My family are my strongest supporters that encourage me all the time. How do they get involved? To understand that better I’d like to describe what it takes to be a ceramist, besides just making ceramics. Running a business as a ceramist and operating a ceramic studio requires a significant amount of work and time. The ceramic studio needs to be constantly cleaned and organized, and tools need to be prepared and set up for easy access by me and my students. Also, maintenance of the equipment including kilns, kiln furniture and shelves, throwing wheels, slab roller and extruder needs to be completed on a regular basis. I need to keep up with inventory and spend time on updating my social media and promoting my business. In addition to all that, I teach pottery classes. Teaching classes is a special moment that I get to share with my students, the techniques and ways that I learned along the way. However, the classes also need to be prepared and consistent.

Throughout all these stages extra support may be needed. That’s how my family gets involved.

My husband always helps with the maintenance, purchases new equipment, repairs broken equipment, and works on improvements at the studio.
My kids are my cheerleaders! They always support me psychologically. They share their views and thoughts about the business. They give me their opinions on the pieces that I am working on and tell me what looks nice and what needs improvement. My daughter is a little artist, and sometimes we collaborate on ideas. They, along with my husband, help me to set up my displays at art shows and markets. They set up the tents, tables, load and offload my collection from the truck and spend time with me at the shows.

My relatives and friends also support me, however not always directly. They always share a good thought or a positive comment. That helps to motivate me and gives me strength. I would also like to give a special “thank you” to my mom! She always checks on me and wants to be aware of what is happening with my business, even though she lives 5,000 miles away.

I also would like to give a shoutout to all my students that come to my studio on a weekly basis and to all of them who came for a single class where they shared a special moment at the studio. I love getting to know new people and doing my best for them to have a great time while making ceramic pieces.

My customers also need a special shoutout! Many of them are very interested not only in my products, but also the process of ceramics. I always show them my enthusiasm when they purchase a handmade ceramic piece that I made. I discuss techniques that I used or the story behind each specific piece. I believe giving this special attention and thanking them for the support is the best way to demonstrate my appreciation. This support is very important for a local and small business.

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