We were lucky to catch up with Victoria Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Victoria, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

100%!! I was an athlete growing up, I swam and played water polo. I also had a tv show in high school discussing local high school sports, but had no desire to go to college. I wanted to be a stuntwoman. That’s it, no backup plan. In high school I would go see our career counselor, Ms. Lapava, she would have all her college books out and I would say I don’t need to look at those, I’m not going to college, I’m going to be a stuntwoman in the movies. I had a plan, move to Los Angeles and be a stuntwoman. My parents fully supported me until I got a swimming scholarship and then guess what? I was going to college. I chose California State University – Northridge, knowing it was close enough to LA that I could still pursue my dream … Well that lasted less than two months. I hated it. I quit the swim team, dropped out of college and then had to call my parents to come get me. My dad came to get me and on our long drive home he said, “As long as you have food on your table and a roof over your head, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you’re happy”. How many parents have told their kids that being happy is the most important thing? I am so lucky – instilling the idea that happiness is the most important thing in life. They let me be who I wanted to be, follow the path I picked and were there to catch me when I fell. (I did become a stunt woman, live shows, movies, tv … I’ve had a great, very happy life).

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have only been doing pottery for a few years. I never thought I was creative before, but looking back as a live performer, stunt woman, a (very) short stint in reality tv and the WWE, as a talent agent and event planner I guess I have always had some sort of creative flair. A few years ago I had to have a few abdominal surgeries and the doctors said I wouldn’t be able to water ski or wakeboard for at least a year, maybe longer. I had no idea what I was going to do, a person can only watch so much Netflix and read so many books so I randomly decided to take a pottery class. Before my 4 week class was over I had ordered my own wheel and a few months later I bought a second hand kiln off facebook marketplace, I’m the kind to jump in full force and figure it out later. I started making bowls and pots. I made plates and ornaments. I bought a slab roller, I bought glazes. I was hooked. It has been a VERY humbling experience. I now mainly make “wavy” bowls. I love them and customers seem to love them as well. I love mixing glazes and experimenting with colors. The colors and shapes I use are not what you normally think of when you think of pottery colors or shapes. I like bright, fun colors that could accent any decor. I make functional decor that is food safe, oven safe and dishwasher safe. People are amazed at the colors that I use and so surprised that my ceramics can be used for anything – charcuterie trays, trinket dishes, brie bowls, catchalls … After my last big show my husband looked and me and said, “Think about how many people are receiving your art as gifts this year, think about how many people have your pottery in their home”. That made me feel so good. A little piece of happiness is in so many peoples homes.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s hard to pick just one rewarding aspect. I find it incredibly rewarding to open the kiln and see what I’ve created. Pottery has been a VERY, VERY humbling experience. I have been very lucky in life and a lot of things have come naturally to me or I have “been in the right place at the right time”. But with pottery I have had to work very hard at it. There have been hours and hours in a cold garage, with wet clay trying to make something that looks halfway decent. Hours and hours on google and youtube trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. Mixing glazes and hoping they make a new color that doesn’t look like dog p**p. It is so rewarding to set up at a show and have people buy my pottery. Not just friends but strangers and then have them come to another show a week later and buy more. To have people stop at my booth and be shocked at the colors I have. To have people buy something on a Saturday and then get on our website a week later and buy something else. I love that this year people ordered sets of bowls and gave them to friends and family as gifts. It is such a rewarding and satisfying feeling to know I’m creating something that people like.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The hardest lesson I have had to unlearn is perfection, pottery doesn’t have to be perfect, it isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s ok if there is an indentation, a fingerprint, if it isn’t the same as the previous one. If someone wanted perfection they would buy a 4 piece set from Target or Ikea. Pieces dry differently and the glazes run differently in each piece. With pottery nothing will ever be the same twice, the brush you use, the place in the kiln, the temp outside, the clay, the glaze – they all contribute to a piece coming out with its own beauty. Coming from a background where safety was the number one priority or pleasing a client with an event where nothing went wrong, my mind was set that perfect is the only way. I really struggled with that in the beginning and threw away more pieces than I care to admit because they weren’t perfect according to my standards. I still sometimes look at two pieces, a set, that should look the same and there are minor differences and I worry customers will be unhappy (they never are) but I have to remind myself they are purchasing handmade decor for this very reason. It is a lesson I am still unlearning but having so much fun doing so.

Contact Info:

• Website: throwandturn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriasmithpottery/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriataber/