About Oak Fir & Maple
About Me
Hi, I’m Em, the owner and sole creator behind Oak Fir & Maple.
I first started dabbling in ceramics during the pandemic and took my first pottery class in 2021. From the moment I sat down at the wheel, I knew pottery was different from any hobby I’d tried before. Within six months, I had joined a studio and would often find my weekends of consumed by throwing sessions that lasted into the wee hours of the night. There was something special about having the studio all to myself, quietly creating while the rest of the world slept.
A few years later, life became hectic and I had to step away from my studio membership and, as a result, pottery altogether. What I didn't expect was how much I would miss it. I dreamed about throwing, spent hours watching other potters work, and immersed myself in learning everything I could about ceramics while I waited for the day I could get back to the wheel.
That day finally came in February 2026, and it feels so good to be back.
By day, I work a corporate job, but pottery gives me the creative outlet I crave and the chance to get my hands dirty. I love the physicality of the process, the focus it demands, and the transformation that happens as a simple lump of clay becomes something both beautiful and useful.
About the Brand and Creative Vision
Oak Fir & Maple represents my own personal style and approach to daily life. I want to create things I enjoy using in my own home and share them with you. I love classic colors that blend easily into any aesthetic, but I also enjoy a touch of whimsy, and I hope my pottery strikes that balance.
I think it’s important to surround yourself with things you love, but also, we all have a limited amount of space, so if you ask me, there’s nothing better than a practical item that also feels like a work of art.
Everything from Oak Fir & Maple has been tested to be durable, usable, and functional, but also, it’s all handmade. No two pieces are completely identical. If you ask me, it’s the slight imperfection and variation that makes handmade pottery beautiful.
Every time your hand wraps around the handle of a mug I’ve made, I hope you can feel the love that went into making it and that maybe, just maybe, it feels like we’re sharing a cup of coffee together across the miles.
About the Name
It’s that very idea of all of the miles I’ve been and all the long-distance cups of coffee that I’d like to share with the people I love behind the name Oak Fir & Maple. In three words it tells the story of the people and places that have shaped me.
Although I grew up in Pennsylvania, it was after college that I found what felt like home. I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, also known as the City of Oaks, and spent the next decade building my adult life there. Those years were formative in every sense. Raleigh is where I grew into myself, built lasting friendships, and began creating the life I wanted. Even today, it's the place I think of as my hometown.
After leaving Raleigh, I spent several years making my way west. Eventually, I landed in Portland, Oregon, where I found another incredible community and fell in love with both the city and the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The fir tree felt like the perfect symbol for that chapter of life, one rooted in adventure, discovery, and a deep appreciation for the region I now call home.
And then life surprised me. Over the last year and a half, I've fallen in love with someone in Canada which has set in motion not just my reentry into the world of pottery but one of the happiest periods of my life to date. The maple leaf represents what's next: a future I'm building toward and a place I'm excited to call home. I can’t wait to call Canada home and spend every day with the little family I’ve been creating there, but as you can probably expect, there are a lot of steps in that process, so while I work toward making that move permanent, I've nestled myself as close to the border as possible in the cute little town of Lynden, Washington.
Oak, Fir, and Maple are more than trees. They're markers along my journey—representing where I've been, where I am, and where I'm headed.
