About Laima Ceramics — Craft, Culture, Connection

Laima Ceramics is a contemporary Latvian ceramics studio and design brand creating handcrafted porcelain and stoneware tableware and international creative courses. The studio is rooted in mindful making, material exploration, and quiet beauty — bringing functional objects and heartfelt experiences into everyday life.

Founded in 2013 by designer-maker Laima Piliņa (born Grigone), the studio grew from Laima’s Contemporary Craft training in the United Kingdom and apprenticeship with master potter in Latvia into a practice that blends craftsmanship, design and art.

Laima Ceramics is recognised both locally and internationally for its handcrafted tableware and design objects — objects that are made to be lived with, loved, and used daily. These works are in homes, collections, and restaurants in Latvia and around the world, sold in over 100 retail locations across Europe, the United States, and beyond.

Our Work & Presence

Functional tableware & art objects made by hand on the pottery wheel or by careful hand-forming.
Restaurant collaborations — serving plates, bowls and dinnerware designed in dialogue with chefs and culinary professionals, used in dining experiences both in Latvia and abroad.
Wholesale & international partners — boutiques, galleries, and lifestyle designers around the world represent Laima Ceramics products.
Teaching & community — workshops, immersive courses, and multi-week pottery residencies that attract participants from across the globe.

The studio located in the countryside near Rundāle, in the Bauska region of Latvia — approximately 70 km from Riga and 7 km from Rundāle Palace.

Exhibitions & Design Representation

Laima Ceramics has repeatedly represented Latvian design and craft on global stages, participating in national stands and exhibitions including:

Maison & Objet — Latvia National Stand, Paris, France
NYNOW — Latvia National Stand, New York, USA
International design shows in Tokyo, Japan and London
(shown as part of national and solo presentations)

These participations reinforce Laima Ceramics as a trusted creative voice within Latvia’s contemporary design community and as a cultural ambassador for Baltic craft traditions.

Studio Values & Philosophy

At the core of Laima Ceramics is a belief in connection — to materials, to process, and to life’s everyday rituals. Each piece reflects:

Slow craft and material sensitivity
Organic minimalism and tactile presence
Functionality married with quiet beauty
Mindful design that elevates ordinary moments

The studio’s practice celebrates materials — porcelain, stoneware, and glazes — with an approach that honours both tradition and innovation.

Visiting, Learning & Creating at Laima Ceramics

Visitors to Laima Ceramics are welcome to engage with the studio through a range of experiences that combine craft, learning, and slow presence — from short visits to immersive creative journeys.

Guided Studio Visits & Ceramics Excursions

An opportunity to step inside the maker’s world and experience the ceramic process up close — from raw clay to finished object.
During a guided visit, guests are introduced to the studio’s philosophy, tools, materials, glazes, and firing methods, while gaining insight into everyday life in a working ceramics studio.
Visits take place in a quiet countryside setting and are suitable for cultural groups, schools, companies, and international visitors.

Workshops, Courses & Creative Retreats

Laima Ceramics offers a curated programme of hands-on workshops, multi-day courses, and longer retreats, designed for both beginners and those with prior experience.

These experiences focus on:

wheel throwing and hand-building
material understanding and form development
glazing, surface, and firing processes
slow, process-led making and creative focus

Courses range from short introductory workshops to immersive multi-day and multi-week formats, attracting participants from Latvia and abroad, including Europe, the USA, and Australia.

Studio Residency Courses

For those seeking extended time and concentration, Laima Ceramics offers studio residency-style courses.
These provide structured yet spacious conditions to develop skills, explore personal ideas, and work alongside the studio team in an authentic professional environment.

Ceramics, Horses & Nature — A Unique Offering

At Laima Ceramics, the creative experience extends beyond clay and glazes into the living landscape that surrounds the studio. Here, the rhythms of the making process are accompanied by the presence of horses in gentle horsemanship connection, curious studio cats, and the peaceful flow of nature — a combination that forms a truly niche and soulful creative environment.

This unique blend — ceramics, horses, cats, and rural stillness — invites visitors, makers, and retreat participants into a dream formula of embodied presence, where material, movement, and moment meet in quiet harmony. Whether you’re shaping clay or walking the fields, the Laima Ceramics experience is as much about connection with the land and animals as it is about craft.

Why It Matters

Laima Ceramics sits at the intersection of craft, culture, and contemporary design.
Through objects, education, and shared experiences, the studio contributes to a wider movement that values slow making, local knowledge, and meaningful everyday rituals — resonating with individuals, families, chefs, designers, and collectors around the world.

Meet the Team

laima piliņa

Founder, designer/maker
Oksana Berķe

Production manager, Packing Queen, Customer service
Krišjānis Piliņš

Photography, graphic design, household practicalities
Džera

Head of Security
Minne

Chief Quality Control
Welcome Committee
Džeronimo

in love with Laima
Laura

Simply cute
Gabriel

Chief ZEN stay-at-home cat
Charly Chi

Barn supervisor
Sahara

Prodigy Superstar Princess
Master of hugs
Livino De gredos

ZEN Mapmaker
Master of Mischief
Harmony

The Mother / Boss
Master of Everyone
MIERVALDIS

Lord of Peace

Notions of stewardship, sustainability, and social empowerment form the underlying ethos behind Laimas practice.

“Nestled in the deep countryside of Latvia, I design and create unique items to become part of your life story, things intended to make the otherwise mundane tasks of cooking, eating, and drinking full of mindfulness, care, and beauty.

I hope to inspire a desire within you to think carefully about the objects you have in your life. I believe in handmade, well made, and slowly made.

I work to restore the balance of unique items against the mass products that surround us. I believe that cultivating an attitude of care towards objects around us will reflect in our relationships and, on a larger scale, our worldview.

I make tableware that brings quiet beauty into everyday life. I pray for a future where all things around us are made in the spirit of gratitude and joy, honouring nature and everything upon it.”

About laima

The founder of “Laima Ceramics” – Laima Piliņa (born Grigone)

Born in Latvia and attended Bauska Art School. After gaining Diploma in Photography she moved to the UK to do Foundation Degree in Art and Design at the Oxford Brookes University (2009).

In 2013 Laima received a BA degree in Contemporary Crafts from Falmouth University where she gained experience in working with clay, wood, metal and glass. During her studies her work was not bound to one format – ranging from mixed-media installations to light design.

In 2012 Laima became an apprentice to the ceramic master Ingrīda Žagata (studio Cepļi). Since then her main passion has been ceramics.

In 2013 she received ELFLA funding and set up a studio in Rundāle (Latvia) creating functional tableware.

In 2016 the first two horses arrive and the Horse Sanctuary is created

in 2019 Laima received MA degree in Ceramics at Latvian Art Academy.

ABOUT THE POTTERY STUDIO

In 2013 the studio opens its doors to the public, housed in renovated 100yo brick building in Rundale, Latvia

In 2018 the new 250m2 studio and 100m2 loft is built to accommodate the growing business and provide accommodation for ceramic students as well as to host various short-term and long-term creative ceramic workshops for both local and international audience.

In 2021 Artist Residency house is renovated - providing additional space to host our growing international community of pottery artists.

In 2022 Oksana Berķe joins the studio as studio assistant

In 2023 Krišjānis Piliņš joins the studio - doing photography, wood carving and graphic design

In 2026 Yutori range is born

“Earth benders. Soil tenders. Mud caressing, joy embracing, tea brewing women. We take small pieces of earth and caress them into offerings to the world. The offering of the heart, of the hand, of the spirit. The work is unglamorous, repetitive, technical, and humble. Making pots. Oh, darling, it is not pots we are making, We are tending to spirits, to people across the globe thirsty for things with soul and meaning and dignity and grace embedded at the core. It is the most important work. At the same time, it is really nothing special, just earth shaping.

In times like these, it is even more important to love what you do and do what you love, whichever way you can move it.

Potters keep potting, weavers keep weaving, carvers keep carving, dancers keep dancing, singers keep singing, cats keep purring.”

— Laima