35th Street Pottery

About

35th Street Pottery began in a basement kiln that shook the floorboards every firing. Founder Leah Okonkwo, a ceramics MFA who returned to Des Moines to be closer to family, opened a street-level studio so neighbors could watch pots take shape and try a wheel without a formal class commitment. The shop sells functional ware — mugs, bowls, planters — alongside experimental glaze work. Drop-in nights fill quickly; kids’ clay camps sell out each summer. Leah’s origin story is simple: she wanted making to feel ordinary again, not gated behind expensive workshops. Walk in and you’ll smell wet clay and hear the wheel hum. Leah still throws most mornings before the gallery opens.