Meet Mallori Jalaie | Functional Ceramics Handmade in San Diego, CA

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mallori Jalaie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mallori, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting my own business was pretty organic. Created out of a need to share my work so I didn’t drown in pots.

I’m originally from San Diego County (Vista specifically) and never found a shortage of things to do here. When I moved to Seattle in 2019, I realized I needed an indoor activity to keep me occupied because it is so dang cold and rainy there. I had taken ceramics classes here and there throughout my life – I went to an arts magnet school and did a few community college classes – but never kept up with it consistently. I found a community studio is Seattle and instantly was hooked.

If you know anything about ceramics, you know that when you start making you accumulate a TON of stuff… I’m definitely a minimalist so after gifting a bunch of pieces to friends and family I needed to make the decision if I was going to continue making or stop. I COULD NOT STOP… and Saffron Ceramics was born.

I ended up relocating back to San Diego in November 2021 and although my time in Seattle was short-lived, I’m happy that moving to a new city forced me to pick up ceramics and pushed me into this maker life.

I’m so stoked to continue making in the San Diego maker community.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets my art apart from others is my modern style mixed in with geometric shapes, patterns and carving. I’ve been doing ceramics more consistently for about two years and I’m so proud of the fact that I can see my own point of view and style in my work.

Ceramics has a sharp learning curve. At first it was super frustrating starting out and trying to re-learn how to center the clay. I had done it before so I thought it would be like riding a bike. IT WAS NOT! I was pretty hard on myself at first but after a while I got back into the groove of it and improved!

Through this process, I’ve continued to learn that we will never be perfect at something from the start. It’s important to give yourself time to learn and grow. We are human and constantly improving.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting my area for the week, we would definitely be going on a bit of a food tour mixed with outdoor activities.

The Pannikin Coffee & Tea in Encinitas is my #1 go to for the vibes. Sitting outside on their patio is one of my all time fave things to do on a Sunday morning. We would walk the dogs on the boardwalk in either Encinitas or Carlsbad and make sure to catch several sunsets (there aren’t many sunsets in Seattle, so I’ve been binging sunsets lately). Union Kitchen & Tap is one of my fave places to grab a bite and a delish drink. We would also go kayaking in Mission Bay or the Carlsbad Lagoon and catch a few more sunsets at Torrey Pines.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents. They are both extremely creative and have art & design backgrounds. They always pushed me to do whatever I was interested in doing and were always wondering when it would be something creative. Well – THIS IS IT!

Website: saffronceramics.com

Instagram: @saffronceramics