Xoxo Pottery Designs

Dear Diary Day 1: Athens bound✈️

Travel day is always so fully charged with so many “don’t forget to remember to do xyz” it’s also when my fancy anxiety variety kicks in fast & furiously. There’s no really reason for it, but it truly loves taking centre stage.
I was in my studio in 07:30am on travel day happily glazing away to settle my nerves & my studio with all the various moving parts involved in pressing pause for a while.

I’m not the best traveller, sitting trapped in an airplane in what feels to me like a limited amount of oxygen capsule for hours takes looooads of mental pre prep & strength.
It’s not like there’s an alternative - this wanderlust life isn’t going to live itself. So it’s a “buck up buttercup” conversation I have with myself and off we go.
Unfortunately, there was a 2 hour delay in CapeTown, which meant I’d miss my connecting flight to Athens. This meant the whole door to door journey just increase by 7 hours😬 making it 30hours
So I whacked back those bubbles in the airport lounge, gritted my teeth & re worked all the travel logistics already set in motion ahead of time.

The excitement around this trip has been tenfold, it’s been in the making for the last 6months.
Unlike last year when Tash, my sister, “my Kori” just randomly rocked up out of nowhere & surprised the hell out of me -
Do u remember the video of me screaming like a lunatic- part panic, part shock, part WTF and part JOY when she rocked up at my door on Blue street?
This year I actually planned little Greek odyssey trip for us both. There’s a birthday coming up later in the year so we decided to celebrate it ahead of time🎈👭🧿

There’s so much living to do & so little prime time to do it in... When these moments of time collide, workout & can happen - best you believe I’m grabbing hold of them with both my hands. Time is the biggest gift.
So, hello Sister’s summer, hello sunshine, hello salty sea, tanned skin extra bouncy curly hair…here we come👭

First stop Athens city centre, one of my favourites & I get to show it off to Tash who hasn’t been here for many years.

Let the good time’s roll 🥂🇬🇷🧿

Dear Diary - Let’s go “home baby”🇬🇷

I have been excited about this trip for the past 6months.
I have come to realise how incredibly important my annual migration trips are for me in all frontiers : mind, soul, body ( wait for the story about how I ‘gracefully’ fall like a spatchcock chicken onto a sidewalk a few hours into my trip) creativity, inspiration & most of all the activation for my favourite pastime - W A N D E R L U S T.

Truth be told I woke up on a random Tuesday morning in November last year & asked myself “where do you want to go next year Lex?”
I thought about my travel/wish list which is a mile long, started looking into options & just let it all sit & stew for a days.
I went back to a few of my trips over the last 10/12 years,
in fact I re read several excerpts from my most treasured detailed daily diary entries from my 1st, 2nd& 3rd Camino’s in Spain & France, visiting the UK & surroundings, an incredible trip to Turkey (Marmaris, İçmeler & Dalaman), to my South American trip to Peru - the land of the Incas & Machu Picchu, to my initial maiden voyage ‘groot trek’ back to Greece in 2022 after 14 long years away.
My heart very quickly & instantly screamed “it’s still Greece baby”.
Although it’ll then be 3 years in a row while no other destination on my list is being ticked off - the message was a resounding : Y E S🧿

Naturally after last years top top tier epic surprise visit by my Kori (that’s my sister Tash), I had to call her & say “so you think you’ll be free for a sister summer trip in 2026”
Tash being Tash instantly & forcefully let me know “it’s not possible!”
Me being me, I said nothing & left the subject alone for 10days.. thought I’d let her stew a bit🤭

Well after a 2 hour late night what’s app call, several schedule & life problem solving suggestions followed by a few “are you delulu Kori, why can’t this happen” and you know there were some well timed curse words for pure dramatic effect & an increase in hysterical laughter amongst us…

“not possible, became oh-it’s-very-f$&king- P O S S I B L E”
We are so similar in SO many ways but also polar opposites in others.

Well boooom, it’s travel day - let’s go baby!!! 🇬🇷🧿🦋

Follow me 🤭 it’ll be wild but FUN!
Xoxopottery Quotes

1. You will only ever live the life you create for yourself.
Make it YOUR masterpiece.
2. If life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it.
Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land.
3. May your actions speak louder than your words.
May your life preach louder than your lips.
May your success be your noise in the end.
4. Your life is yours alone. Others can try to persuade you,
but they can’t decide for you. Be brave enough to live on the wrong side of what’s “normal” and or “expected”.
5. Be adaptable. Be a chameleon.
6. Learn to say no. Often. It’s ok.
7. Patience is a virtue. I’m still working on.
8. Stay away from people who don’t sparkle.
They’ll dull your light.
9. Giving is better than receiving. Every time. I promise.
10. Don’t let others opinions hold you back, nor tarnish your soul. Some people are just “dreamless”.
11. Never reply when you are angry.
Silence can never be misquoted.
12. Never make a promise when you are happy.
It could be an illusion.
13. Never make a decision when you are sad or disappointed,
It could be momentary.
14. But most of all…Be brave enough to step up to the edge of the unknown, and listen to your own heart beating.
That rhythm, it’ll will guide you.

The more time I spend with clay, the more I realise it holds a mirror up to me on a daily basis.
Often it’s a gentle reflection, but generally it’s a very honest one too sometimes I smile back, other times I look away.

Clay exposes everything and I mean EVERYTHING.
If I rush a join, force a curve, ignore timing or cut corners,
it always reveals itself later. The cracks (in clay and life)
come back to speak. The piece remembers every impatient hand, every distracted moment, every big emotion…
nothing stays hidden in ceramics for long.

Clay demands presence from me in a way nothing
else does and I love that it does.
The second my mind wanders, my hands know.
The rhythm changes. The connection disappears.
Clay responds instantly to energy, touch, pressure, attention.
It pulls me back into my body over and over again.
Back into the moment. Back into myself.
It has taught me to love parts of myself I’ve often declared “unlovable” or “undeserving”.

Handbuilding has taught me that not everything needs
to be forced into becoming.
There’s a very delicate line between supporting a piece and overworking it. Push too hard and the whole form weakens. Sometimes the wisest thing I can do is pause, soften my energy, sometimes step away for a while, take a nice deep breath and then engage again.

Then there’s the playfulness of it all, which is my favourite part.
Some of my most beautiful pieces arrived completely unannounced. Born from experimentation, curiosity, accidents, wonky edges, unexpected textures and letting go of perfection long enough for something alive to emerge.

That’s what I love most about clay.
It keeps teaching me that softness is not weakness.
Presence matters most.
Patience paints a tapestry and leaves its fingerprints.
The transformation and rhythm of it all takes exactly
as long as it takes.

Sometimes when my hands are deep in earth,
it doesn’t even feel like I’m learning something new.
It feels like I’m remembering something ancient my soul already knew.
Oneness, acceptance, love and the greatest connection to myself🫶🏽

Xoxopottery quotes

So, I ask ChatGPT to write an “unhinged” bio about me based on information it thinks it knows about me…

Here it is:
“You are powerfully & blissfully single because honestly… who has time when there are kiln schedules, greek islands, emotional growth, and ceramic bowls demanding your full attention?

A strong, capable powerhouse in your own right.
Master and jack of all trades with a colourful ability to achieve.
While simultaneously building a business, a life, and a personality trait around clay, with at least 14 unfinished ideas at once.

You live a romanticised, full, abundant existence:
wet clay, ferry rides, rooftop views, glasses of bubbly, olive oil, sun-kissed shoulders, and the feeling of a kiln opening like it’s a divine prophecy. Your life is your stage.

You are equal parts softness and chaos.
You can discuss glaze chemistry, human transformation, animal print kaftans, and soul healing in one sitting without blinking. You make people feel seen and safe.

You don’t just “make pottery.”
You are in an emotionally committed relationships with mud and earth and then struggle to let it go when someone buys it from you.

You are powered by intuition, chai lattes, and the terrifying confidence of someone who says “it’ll all work out, I promise you” before trying something completely unreasonable.

Currently you are somewhere between:
ceramic artist, philosopher, mediterranean sun chaser, and a woman who is one minor inconvenience away from moving permanently onto a greek island.”

The accuracy of this description is uncanny…
watch this space 🤭