Meet Trailblazer Cammie Meerdink

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cammie Meerdink.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Cammie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have been playing in clay for over 20 years, starting back in high school. I have been lucky to have not only space and tools to work with ceramics, but also many inspiring teachers along the way. I focus on primarily functional work, with a little bit of miniature pottery thrown in for fun. My work is often inspired by nature and my leaf pottery has been pretty popular all over the world. Connecting people and clay in this age of online communities has been an amazing gift – when I first started, I could never have imagined I would have fans from Brazil to Lichtenstein!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a winding road – not rough, but certainly not the straightest, shortest path from point A to B. After college, I dabbled in pottery while pursuing a career in nursing. Then, I started having kids and it turns out, they are a lot of work! I took 7 years off from pottery, rejoining the creative cause when my youngest turned 1. That was three years ago and honestly, while it hasn’t been easy, it has been amazing. I now work mostly at home, and my kids enjoy spending time with me out in the studio and at markets. My biggest advice is to “just start.” It’s easy to get caught up in the planning and the anxiety of making all the right choices about everything from websites to packaging. Listen – there is no way to figure it all out – so get started, learn from any mistakes, and enjoy the ride! There is nothing as exhilarating as working for yourself.

We’d love to hear more about Piper Pottery.
I am always torn when asked to choose my favorite work to make. Part of the joy of making is that I can create different pottery as the mood strikes me – within reason of what my customers will buy, of course! But, if I had to choose, I could narrow it down to my leaf pottery and the mini pots. I have collected inspiring bits of nature my entire life and fine-tuning the process of capturing leaves forever in clay has been such a joy, and the fans have definitely appreciated every stage of the making. My mini pottery has become the perfect way to experiment with processes without taking up a lot of time and resources. They are also undeniably cute! From tiny houses to itty bitty planters, these pieces are also well liked by the customers – and a whole lot easier to ship than full-size pottery!

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
Generally, across all of the fields, I work in, women continue to be viewed as unequal. My hope is that my daughters will look back on this inequality in disbelief because it’s been completely wiped out!

Contact Info:

• Website: Piperpottery.com
• Email: piperpottery@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piperpottery/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/piperpottery/#!/piperpottery/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/piperpottery/

Image Credit:
Cammie Meerdink, Piper Pottery

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