54: From Marketing to Making with Katie Robbins

A passion for colour, flowers and making all came together for Katie Robbins as she said goodbye to a career in marketing and welcomed a new creative direction as a ceramicist.  In a lively and very open chat Katie - known by many on Instagram with her memorable handle @ceramicmagpie - shares her journey from a career in marketing to becoming a full-time ceramicist, and how creativity was always present in her life - even before she could imagine it becoming her work. She talks about studying French and politics at university, working in marketing, keeping her creative levels topped up with evening classes, and eventually finding her way to clay after having children. Katie reflects on the slow process of building confidence as a self-taught maker, the challenge of calling herself a ceramicist, and how selling her first pieces helped her begin to believe in her work. She also discusses how her marketing background has helped her shape her brand, understand social media, and bring people along on her creative journey. We talk about the realities of running a creative business: learning new skills, managing admin, showing up online, doing both general markets and specialist ceramic shows, developing a product range, and balancing heart-led making with commercial decisions. Katie and I also explore the importance of community, customer experience, and delighting buyers - from sharing the behind-the-scenes process to creating beautiful packaging and memorable moments. A warm and practical conversation about confidence, creativity, flowers, ceramics, and the many skills involved in building a sustainable creative business. You can see Katie's work at https://www.ktrobbinsceramics.com/ and on instagram she is @ceramicmagpie