A new community ceramics studio, Slo Slo Studio, offering classes as well as memberships, has opened on the corner of Henry Street and Rutgers.
I recently talked with the founders, Tra Nguyen and Jon Wang, about their new endeavor and how Slo Slo Studio came to be in the neighborhood.
The duo has been living in Brooklyn for the past decade, and Jon had been working at a ceramic studio, before they decided to open Slo Slo. Jon is familiar with the neighborhood because he used to live on Eldridge Street, when he was a line cook for a few different local restaurants (including Thing Tu on Orchard Street and Golden Diner — pre-pandemic).
Tra works in the nonprofit sector, developing community-centered arts programs and spaces, so they saw an opportunity to combine their skills when it came to creating their first business together.
The duo was excited to have found the space (formerly Vida sign printing shop) through a listing shared by the non-profit organization Welcome to Chinatown. “The landlord was looking for a tenant from the neighborhood that they could connect with,” Jon said.
“We were always playing around with the idea of trying to open a cafe or something,” he added, “but then I just got really into ceramics. And it just seemed like something I could really wrap my head around — in terms of something for the neighborhood.”
“We were looking for something in Bed-Stuy originally,” Tra said. “But then we expanded our scope and [were looking] to have a place for Asian-Americans, and for people of color, to be a part of. And we really wanted to be some of those people who could open a studio and be able to host the community.”
“Jon was working at a studio in Bed-Stuy and we just felt like there was a need for more diversity. More representation for a lot of different artists and friends that we are connected with,” she said.
“Ceramics has a really rich history amongst Asian cultures. It’s nice to be able to celebrate that a little bit,” Jon added.
The memberships are generally for people who have worked with ceramics before and are more self-directed. Memers have full-time access to the studio, along with storage space for their creations and the studio will fire their work for them.
Beginner drop-in classes are offered once a week and are often taught by Jon. He said they are perfect for newcomers who might not have even touched clay before. “It’s just an opportunity for them to come in and get their hands dirty and try it out.”
More in-depth classes are 6 – 8 weeks, once a week, and allow participants to learn the full process.
Slo Slo also offers one-off workshops, focused on different themes, and they have a community market coming up in mid-June, which will include some vendors – set up on the sidewalk, featuring some work from artists and jewelry designers – along with snacks.
As for the process of working with the clay, it’s not something that can be rushed, (hence the name) which only adds to the good vibes in studio.
You can learn more about what’s happening at Slo Slo here.
