The Potters’ Studio began

in Berkeley in 1971 by Jules Seitz as a community service organization providing a weekly class to teenagers from the Blind Skills Center in San Pablo. In 1977 when Seitz decided to close the venture, a group of potters came together to form a corporation (The Nara Corporation) that could buy the studio and run it as a community/collaborative space.

In 1983, Maija Williams replaced Wayne Salk as studio manager. She remained in the role for almost 30 years.  It was during her time at the studio that the character of The Potters’ Studio was formed.  As a survivor of WWII from Latvia and an immigrant to the US as a teenager, Maija’s firm belief in the equality of all people, the need for all to participate in the decisions of the group, and her deep fascination for all things ceramic offered an unusual nursery for the creation of what we now cherish as The Potters’ Studio ethos.