Samantha Hoff had dabbled in pottery since childhood, but it wasn’t until a toxic corporate job wore down her mental health that she realized how powerful the creative pursuit could be. Leaving that stressful environment behind, she launched Pottery With a Purpose, a company that creates both at-home pottery kits and in-person workshops geared towards fostering creativity and joy and easing mental health burdens.

“Not using my hands or body to do things other than tap on screens wasn’t good for my mental health,” says Hoff. “I realized because of the pandemic that we didn’t need to be in a physical studio; you could be at your home, or you could be now at a bar or a bookshop, or wherever you want to be doing pottery just like you can knit or watercolor from home or other places.”

Pottery With a Purpose offers products catering to various interests and experience levels, from beginner pottery painting and air-dry pottery kits to more substantial ceramic vessel kits that require firing at a local kiln. The website connects buyers with kilns near then to fire those bigger projects.

The in-person classes, currently offered in Arizona, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island, focus on similar creations but with the guidance of an in-person teacher and the community benefit of meeting others.

Hoff plans to open her first brick-and-mortar location in Needham, Massachusetts, in September and expand in-person classes to additional states going forward.

“It’s a really forgiving art because it’s literally mud from the ground. And if you mess up, you can squish it again and start over from a ball of clay,” says Hoff. “I think that’s a really freeing part of working with clay.”

Sustainability was an important element for Hoff when she launched the business, especially since shipping and mailing often cause so much waste. The Pottery With a Purpose kit includes a biodegradable sponge, and the paints are packaged in 100% recycled plastic containers. In the early days, before the company grew too big, Hoff would source dry cleaning bags from Facebook Buy Nothing groups to wrap the kit clay in.

The experience has come full circle for Hoff. A challenging corporate environment exacerbated her need for a creative, tactile outlet. Now Pottery With a Purpose provides pottery kits to corporate retreats and team building events of all kinds.

“I found when I worked in corporate America that people always liked wellness, free gym membership, or free chair massage,” says Hoff. “And art is so powerful for wellness in addition to those things. It’s cool to share that with people and then see that transformative tactile experience.”