Ekua Ceramics Is Transforming Daily Essentials Into Sculptures

Home Away From Home is a series that spotlights BIPOC brands that are adding a cultural essence to everyday items. This allows anyone to always have a piece of their culture in their own space without ever feeling homesick or out of touch with their roots. We’re exploring the stories of the individuals behind the brands that have touched people’s hearts through their products and have allowed people to feel at home anywhere.

When Sara Ekua Todd, the founder of Ekua Ceramics, tagged along with a friend to a two hour introductory ceramics class, she had no idea it would change her life, kickstarting a passion that would eventually turn into a full-fledged career.  

Yet that’s exactly what happened, and nearly a decade later, Todd is helming Ekua Ceramics, a buzzy stoneware brand that’s known for its alluring shapes and zestful use of color. 

Inspired by her multi-ethnic, Belgium-based upbringing—in what she describes as a loud and colorful home—Todd is bringing joy to kitchen cabinets, counters, and patios everywhere with her lively mugs, bowls, and planters that take an artful approach to everyday living. 

The Story of Shaping Her Craft

Todd explains how she grew up in a free and creative household and was always encouraged to follow her dreams. For Todd, these dreams led her from her native Belgium to Long Beach, California where she took that now-fated ceramic class.

Although she took to clay immediately, she admits finding her groove and personal style required time. It wasn’t until two years later, in 2017, that she released her first official ceramics collection.

When it came time to name her brand, Todd didn’t have to look far, opting for her Ghanaian middle name “Ekua” which is a name you give to a girl when she’s born on a Wednesday, Todd explains.

After her first pieces launched, Todd ran a series of pop-up shops, generating a word-of-mouth buzz, and was invited to team up with a well-known street fashion designer to create a line of branded dishware.

Feeling more confident in her skills, Todd began to reach out to brands with her solo work. One of her earliest successes was the “Circle Mug,” a three-tier mug with a stacked circle appearance that evokes the chunkier, organic “wabi-sabi” style.

Even in a crowded ceramics marketplace, Todd’s pieces won over buyers with their unique, sculptural shapes—Todd explains how she was encouraged to take by her family’s upbringing which emphasized individuality.

“I’ve heard people say my handles are uncomfortable, or they don’t like the feeling of raw clay, but I’ve never heard anyone say my mugs are basic,” she says. 

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Putting the “Play” in Clay 

Since the get-go, Todd has been guided by the desire to make clay appear against its nature.

“Clay in itself is a hard medium and it’s pretty heavy, so I like the play on it looking like the opposite,” she says. Her efforts pay off, resulting in ceramic pieces that appear to defy gravity.

For instance, her “Tissue Box Cover” looks more like a tissue than a hard-edged box. Rather than appearing weighty, it’s light and airy-looking, like fabric suspended mid-air. 

Given how sculptural her work is, it’s a surprise to hear that Todd doesn’t consider herself the best artist.

“I’m really bad at drawing,” she admits. “When I have an idea that appears in my head I either try to sketch it or just write down words to describe it.”

Today, Todd counts Southern California among her biggest muses, citing the city’s melting pot of culture, color, food, and proximity to the water as inspiration. 

“I love to just walk around the museums and look at paintings,” she says, noting that Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce, Enzo Mari, and Le Corbusier are among her favorites. “I’m inspired by colors and love seeing how other artists use them.”

Living in Full Color 

Todd’s passion for color is on full display in her work. Hop on her site you see she favors deep, saturated hues in shades like “Cloud,” which is a powdery sky blue. Todd often spends a lot of time doing color research and says it’s one of her favorite parts when she starts a new collection.

On average, Todd only adds one to two new colors per season. This season’s newcomer is a super-saturated royal purple hue known as “Amethyst.”

She’s also been known to phase out colors—pink and gray are colors she worked with early on that you won’t see in heavy rotation anymore—encouraging admirers to scoop up anything that catches their eye while it’s in stock. 

Making colored clay is an intensive process that involves mixing stains into the clay and loading it into a pug mill. which dispenses the clay in a thick, pasta-like tube. 

To make her beautifully-colored clay more accessible to amateur ceramists, Todd recently began selling raw clay in signature Ekua shades on her site. 

Giving Back 

These days, Todd is focused on sharing the joy of making ceramics with others. She recently debuted a series of local workshops she teaches in Long Beach, which is called clay play.

Class-goers can choose from offerings like making a mug or an intro to Nerikomi, which is a decorative ceramic craft from Japan that involves stacking colored clay, and then slicing through the cross section to reveal a pattern. 

“I love that each student comes in really excited to learn and make something special that they can take home, and they don’t need to have any ceramic experience,” Todd says.

As for progressing her craft, Todd is beginning to dabble in ceramic furniture. She recently polished off a table that now lives at the Yowie Hotel in Philadelphia. Lighting and large-scale planters are also in the works. 

For Todd, the evolution of her brand is something she marvels at frequently.

“One day you’re taking your first ceramic class, and then one day a bunch of strangers are drinking out of your mugs,” she says. “It’s incredible.”