Our Story
Sarah Van Raden, Creator of Notary Ceramics
About Sarah
After taking a semester of ceramics in college, it took nearly a decade before Sarah found her way back to the wheel. Once she enrolled in a low-pressure, evening ceramics class, she instantly fell back in love with clay and its innate ability to make you feel like a child again, carefree and full of possibilities.
Sarah bought her own used wheel, a small kiln, and emptied out her cluttered basement to make way for a make-shift studio. After roughtly two years working sporadically from home she eventually opened our current shop and studio space in the historic Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon.
Clay continues to inspires Sarah as she appreciates the imperfections, the wobbles, and the wonkiness inherent to this material...all working to create beautiful handmade products that remind you of the people who spent their time creating it for you to enjoy.
About Notary
Notary Ceramics began as a one-woman operation. It was a hobby that turned into a passion, and eventually into a successful, small, women-run business.
Notary began as a venture created out of love for simple materials, and the age old process of creating pieces that can stand the test of time.
Today, Notary comprises of a small team of passionate individuals who believe in creating and curating long lasting pieces to fill our homes and our lives with.
Objects that have little to no negative effect on our planet, and which bring the user joy and a sense of individuality.
We believe in the human touch, and the power of intention and mindfullness when creating our unique peices, or curating our shop.
At Notary we are passionate about our customers and the experiences we share with the people we get to interact with. There will always be room for more kindness and we will greet you with a smile or a helpful word whenever we are given the opportunity.
We love working with you on your unique spaces, and we are passionate about sourcing simple, clean, minimal homewares that exist long after any trend might fade.
While ceramics will always be our main focus, we have come to find so much pleasure in pairing our wares with the creations of other makers, and other natural materials. Wood, stone, rattan, wicker, glass and metal are some of the elements we are most inspired by.