Daily Inspiration: Meet Adriana Kunstenaar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adriana Kunstenaar.

Hi Adriana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was in college, I was convinced (by my mom) to take a ceramic class. Prior to this class, I had no experience with clay and had no interest in either. However, towards the middle of the semester, my attitude began to change.

When it was time to sign up for classes again, I signed up for a second term. The more I put my hands in clay, the more into it I became. Fast forward to my last semester of college, and I knew I had to take it once more. By the end of my three semesters, it wasn’t just something I took to get some credits completed in school, but it became a passion. I made so many pieces but unfortunately, I couldn’t keep them all so I started to give some away as gifts to family and friends. However, a friend of mine and my ceramic professor Pedro, advised me to start selling and ADRIANA_K_ART was born!

Every piece is created by hand with love and passion. All are unique pieces, and not one is exactly the same. A piece may look similar to another one but each has its own beauty. This is what ADRIANA_K_ART is all about! Therefore, my wish for all of you is that you find a ceramic piece that is as unique and special as you are!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a small business isn’t here. There are always bumps along the way like trying to find the right products to make that customers will be most drawn to…and the branding.

I would say for, creating a business and working on the branding was the hardest part. I’ve learned that a business isn’t just about good products, you can have the best product and not have branding. Branding can make or break a business, sometimes.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
Becoming a business owner wasn’t something that I thought I would ever do. My dad owns a small business as well as my mom is in the education world so I always had great examples however, I always wanted to be a teacher…the business and my love for ceramics came around at the end of college. I took ceramic classes in college for fun to get some credits out of the way and my professor at the time named Pedro showed me a variety of different techniques using clay and then slowly taught me the ins and outs of the kilns, creating glazes, slips etc.

I became obsessed and eventually at the end of my college career I had so many ceramics I didn’t know what to do with it so my mom and Pedro suggested I sell them. I never thought that my ceramics were good enough to sell but I figured I’d try and long and behold years later I’d be owning my own brand! So Pedro who is now my mentor and my mom played big roles.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adrianakart.com
• Instagram:@adriana_k_art
• Tiktok: @adrianakart

Image Credits
Madisen Basham, Moha Machioudi, Daphne Rose Pandeagua, and Adriana Kunstenaar