Potter Lulu Jacobs joins Robin Johnson to discuss leaving a career in branding and marketing to pursue pottery full time. Lulu shares how a short course at Turning Earth turned into a full creative obsession, leading her to build a pottery business from a garden studio while raising a young family. The conversation explores the emotional highs and crushing failures of ceramics, the reality of selling handmade pottery, the pressure of social media, and the challenge of balancing creative freedom with commercial work. Lulu also talks openly about working with difficult black clay, building an audience online without becoming fake, and why bravery matters more than confidence when building a creative career.

Key Topics Covered

• Leaving marketing to pursue pottery full time
• Learning ceramics through Turning Earth
• Building a pottery studio at home
• Why social media feels uncomfortable for makers
• Authenticity and community on Instagram
• The challenge of working with black clay
• Glaze chemistry and kiln failures
• Selling handmade pottery profitably
• Restaurant commissions and wholesale pottery
• The impact of The Great Pottery Throw Down
• Functional pottery versus art pottery
• Creative risk taking and overcoming fear
• Pottery as escapism and meditation
• Imposter syndrome in creative industries

Enjoying the show?

Leave a review, follow us, and share the episode with a fellow maker. New episodes every week with artists, designers, craftsmen and creators from around the world.

Yours for the Making with Robin Johnson is the podcast that celebrates creativity, craftsmanship, and the art of making. Hosted by Robin Johnson — founder of Johnson Bespoke and BBC presenter on The Travelling Auctioneers, The Restorers, Woodland Workshop — this podcast dives into the stories of makers from all walks of life. From woodworkers, metal fabricators, and chefs to artists, designers, and hobbyists, each episode offers real conversations with the people behind the things we love.

Whether you're a hands-on creative, aspiring artisan, or simply curious about how things are made, this podcast offers inspiration, insight, and practical wisdom. Expect behind-the-scenes stories, lessons in process and passion, and a celebration of the maker movement in all its forms.

Subscribe now and follow Yours for the Making wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

Key Moments:

00:00 Leaving branding and discovering pottery

01:27 The Turning Earth course that changed everything

02:40 Learning pottery privately through failure

03:58 Building an authentic pottery audience online

05:57 The nightmare and beauty of black clay

10:50 Growing up around pottery studios and kilns

15:18 Why pottery feels addictive

18:30 Opening the kiln at midnight

20:35 The financial reality of handmade pottery

23:35 Landing a first restaurant commission

26:58 The impact of The Great Pottery Throw Down

35:15 Pottery as escapism and meditation

42:24 Creative freedom versus commercial work

46:56 Florian Gadsby and the pottery creator economy

49:07 Pottery content creators and social media culture

58:32 Advice to her 18 year old self