SEATTLE — If you're looking for artist Akiko Graham, you’ll probably find her hard at work in her pottery studio in West Seattle.
"I never worked for somebody," said Graham. "I mean, I worked with some people like maybe 10 months, two months, things like that."
Graham’s journey to becoming one of the most sought-after potters in Seattle began over 30 years ago when she began taking night classes at a local school.
"I thought, 'Oh, maybe I would like to make something like this,'” said Graham. "I started to make pottery at home because that's where I can practice a lot."
Impressed with her work, her teacher encouraged her to sell her creations at the Fremont Sunday Market.
"It was really hard to sell pottery. People, especially at the market, I think a lot of people go to the market, and they will just look around and [say] 'oh, maybe I'll come back,'" Graham said.
Instead of waiting for customers, Graham began bringing her handmade pottery to local restaurants with hopes they would be interested in buying her wares.
"It was really hard [the] first time because they think 'oh, handmade pottery, does it break?'," Graham said.
But her persistence paid off. Restaurants from all over began buying her work.
"Right now I have few restaurants, several in Seattle. Some in San Francisco," Graham said.
At the restaurant, Lark on Capitol Hill, James Beard Award-winning chef John Sundstrom has been using Graham's creations to enhance the presentation of his food for over two decades.
"We love being able to tell the story about everything that happens in the restaurant," said Sundstrom. "When you have a plate that's unique and really brings the whole thing together for the guest, that sort of extends the story."
But Graham hasn't just gained popularity in restaurants. The demand for her work has crossed over to the public too where customers are willing to wait over a year just to get their hands on her one-of-a-kind pieces.
"I think I'm not good at it yet," Graham said humbly. "If I have to make a lot, maybe I'll make 30 or 40 today, something like that."
"I make it perfect for my kind of perfect. I think everybody's perfection is different," Graham said.
What started as a hobby has grown into a thriving business. One that Akiko Graham has no plans to take her hands from the wheel.
"I feel like pottery came to me. That's what I feel," Graham said.
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.