There's something deeply human about shaping clay with your hands. Long before mass production, before factories and molds, pottery was made one piece at a time — each vessel a small act of patience, skill, and intention. At Rico Industries, that's still exactly how we do it.
Where It All Begins: The Clay
Every handcrafted piece starts with raw stoneware clay — chosen for its durability, its warmth, and the way it holds a glaze. Before a single mug or bowl takes shape, the clay is wedged by hand to remove air pockets and create an even consistency. It's a meditative step, and an essential one. Air in the clay means cracks in the kiln.
Throwing on the Wheel
The heart of our process is wheel-throwing — the ancient technique of centering a ball of clay on a spinning wheel and coaxing it upward into form. It takes years to develop the feel for it: the right pressure, the right speed, the right moment to open the base and pull the walls.
Our Rico-Handle Mugs are thrown as cylinders first, then carefully shaped to the proportions that feel right in the hand — not too tall, not too wide, with walls thick enough to hold heat but light enough to feel effortless. The handles are rolled separately, a technique that creates a stronger, more natural grip than handles that are traditionally made - these are unique.
The Zen Orb Mugs take a different path. Their rounded, globe-like form requires a slower, more deliberate pull — the clay wants to collapse if you rush it. The result is a mug that cradles warmth in every direction, perfect for a slow morning with tea or coffee.
Tumblers, beakers, and vases each have their own rhythm on the wheel. A tumbler needs straight, confident walls. A vase needs a belly and a narrowing neck. Every form is its own conversation with the clay.
Drying and Trimming
After throwing, each piece rests — sometimes for a day, sometimes longer — until it reaches a leather-hard state. At that point, it goes back on the wheel for trimming: a process of carving away excess clay from the base to refine the foot ring and balance the weight. This is where a piece starts to feel finished, even before it's fired.
The First Fire: Bisque Kiln
Once fully dry, the pieces go into the kiln for their first firing — called a bisque fire — at around 1800°F. This burns off any remaining moisture and hardens the clay into a porous, chalk-like state that's ready to accept glaze. After bisque firing, each piece is inspected by hand. Anything that didn't survive the heat — a crack, a warp — doesn't move forward.
Glazing: Where Color Comes to Life
Glazing is where the artisan ceramics process becomes truly expressive. Our glazes are mixed in-house, layered and applied by hand — dipped, brushed, or poured depending on the effect we're after. The colors you see on a finished piece are never quite what they look like going into the kiln. Glazes transform under heat in ways that are partly predictable, partly magical.
Some of our pieces use a single, clean glaze. Others are layered — a base coat that breaks one way, a top coat that bleeds another. No two pieces come out exactly the same. That's not a flaw. That's the point.
The Final Fire: Glaze Kiln
The glaze firing is the longest and most critical step. Pieces are loaded carefully into the kiln — nothing touching, everything spaced — and fired to cone 5, around 2167°F. Over the course of several hours, the kiln climbs slowly, holds temperature, then cools just as slowly. Rush the cooling and the glaze can craze or crack. Patience is built into every piece.
When the kiln finally opens, it's always a moment of anticipation. The glazes have melted, flowed, and set. Colors have deepened. Surfaces have come alive. And a new set of handmade mugs, bowls, and vessels is ready for the world.
Made to Be Used
Handcrafted pottery isn't meant to sit on a shelf. It's meant to be held, used, washed, and used again. Our pieces are food-safe, dishwasher-safe, and built to last — because the best artisan ceramics are the ones that become part of your daily life.
Whether it's a Rico-Handle Mug that becomes your go-to for morning coffee, a Zen Orb Mug that makes tea feel like a ritual, or a tumbler that travels with you — each piece carries the hours that went into making it.
Explore the Collection
If you've ever wanted to hold something made entirely by hand, we'd love for you to find your piece. Browse the full Rico's Thrown Pottery collection and find the mug, bowl, or vessel that speaks to you.
Every piece is one of a kind. Once it's gone, it's gone.