Mona Maier
Exploring my creativity and craftsmanship has always been a part of who I am. I’ve found my absolute favourite pastime in pottery on the wheel: creating new shapes and vessels with my own hands and making them unique through special glazes brings me deep fulfilment. I’d like to share this grounding experience with others. Building and launching my own business has also always been a dream of mine – Mona’s Clay Club is the perfect fit for this!
Mona’s Clay Club will be a pottery studio where people can gain their first experience on the potter’s wheel and glaze their own ceramics, whilst I sell my own handmade treasures. A space full of inspiration, creativity and community.
What are your biggest challenges at the moment?
Pottery is an expensive craft. I’m currently at the stage of working out how I can afford to buy more potter’s wheels and my own kiln – as well as covering the regular running costs involved in firing the ceramics. I’m also finding it a challenge at the moment to balance my business start-up with my studies. Of course, I’d love to devote all my time to the Clay Club, but at the same time I also have to juggle exams and student commitments.
What is your goal for the duration of the EXIST-Women programme?
During the EXIST-Women programme, I want to further develop my start-up mindset in a targeted way and grow even more firmly into the role of an entrepreneur. My goal is to lay the strategic foundations for the Clay Club and to focus intensively on the milestones, strategies and branding.
In concrete terms, this means: I want to build up our social media and online presence, offer initial trial courses and test the waters in the market. I also want to benefit fully from the programme’s strong network, make connections and forge long-term relationships. I am very excited to see where this joint journey with EXIST-Women and the Clay Club will take me.
"I am very grateful and proud to be part of the EXIST-Women programme and to be working on my dreams! If you fancy trying your hand at pottery for the first time and would like to join the Clay Club, please feel free to email me at monas.clayclub@gmail.com or visit the Clay Club on Instagram: @monas.clay.club"