My name is Emma Grout and I am the founder, maker, designer, customer relations manager, cleaning lady, administration office and social media content maker at studio emma sophia. Just to say, it is a one woman show. :)

As a graduate from the fine art department of the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, I discovered ceramics shortly after finishing my fine art degree in 2014. At the end of that year I set out to do a simple beginners course in pottery to get myself back into making. There wasn’t much room to make simple things with my hands during my research and concept based art degree. It took only one pottery lesson for me to become obsessed.

After a few years of weekly pottery classes, meanwhile trying to figure out if there is life after art school, I had the opportunity to buy a small pottery wheel. Not having a clue where I would put it, I went for it. Shortly after I left behind job and appartment in Rotterdam, moved back in with my parents in Breda and rented my beautiful studio. This was in May 2017.

I remember setting up my wheel when the space was still mostly empty and throwing some pots. Panic set in when these pots turned out rubbish. What had I gotten myself into?!

The years afterI figured stuff out as I went along, threw hundreds of pots until my hands could make whatever my brain came up with, learned how taxes work (sort of). My first kiln was set up in my parents outhouse and I would get up at 3 AM to go check on it, fearing I would burn the whole place to the ground.

Now, almost 7 years later, I have made thousands of pots and sent them all around the world. I've worked together with beautiful shops and I've talked to many lovely customers at markets and pop-up events. These days I'm focussing mostly on sharing my joy for working with clay during workshops. The wonder of using your own two hands to shape wet mud into your new favourite coffee cup has never left me. Its this feeling of wonder and play thats the center of my teaching journey. Of course I continue to make pottery during all of this.

I still live in Breda, now with boyfriend and two cats. I love to read, drink coffee and go for hikes.