COMMISSIONS
COMMISSIONS
Some moments deserve more than memory.
ON COMMISSIONS ———
Why certain moments deserve more
There are moments that photographs can't fully hold. A name passed down. A love that finally said itself out loud. A milestone carried across years of quiet, unglamorous work. These moments ask for something more permanent than a caption.
A BLK Wheelhouse commission begins where language stops. You bring the story, the anniversary, the family legacy, the celebration that deserves to live on, and the studio translates it into clay. Into form. Into something that takes up space on a shelf and gathers meaning the way clay gathers warmth.
It’s a meaningful piece of decor and a deliberate act of saying: this mattered, and I want proof.
Current lead time is 4–6 weeks; inquire for rush availability. Fully custom commissions begin with a brief consultation, by email or phone, whichever feels more natural to you. Deposits are required to hold your production window.
WHAT YOUR COMMISSION HOLDS ——-
A Moment Made Permanent
The moment pressed into clay. The handwriting preserved in glaze. A grandmother's name that now lives at eye level, where it belongs.
Lineage & Story
Cultural history. Community narrative. A family tree rendered in ceramic. A legacy that can be picked up, turned over, and handed down again.
Celebration
The milestone you worked decades for. The graduation. The retirement. The thing worth throwing a party over, and worth keeping long after the party ends.
Love & Grief
The note that could not stay paper. The feeling that deserved something harder than words and softer than stone. Or something to touch when you need the weight of that person back in your hands.
COMMISSION TYPES ——-
Four ways to begin a piece
Each type of commission draws from the same root: a story, shaped by hand, fired in the kiln, sent back into the world as something you can hold.
300.01JON • CERAMIC
Custom Love Notes
Handwritten words preserved in clay. A message that began on paper — or lived only in your chest — pressed into the surface of a ceramic piece that will outlast the moment that inspired it. These pieces carry love letters, long-overdue words, expressions that arrived too late or right on time. The writing becomes texture. The feeling becomes form.
3” by 3” Ceramic Napkins are available in white or brown stoneware with black lettering and a clear glaze. Message to be provided by client.
300.02JON • CERAMIC
Lineage Book Vases
The studio's signature form: ceramic vessels shaped like books, named and held. A commissioned Lineage Book Vase carries the names that matter to you: a matriarch's full name pressed into the spine, a family surname running the length of the cover, titles that belong to someone who never got their flowers while they stood. They are watertight vessels you fill with water and blooms. They live on shelves where they can be seen daily, touched often, asked about by everyone who enters the room.
9'“ by 6” by 2.5” Lineage Book Vases are available in white or brown stoneware. Various glaze options available. Spine text to be provided by client.
300.02JON • CERAMIC
Milestone Book Vases
For the moments you worked decades toward. The hall of fame induction, the retirement, the degree earned through sacrifice no one fully saw. These custom pieces are perfect to gift for a chapter of someone's life that deserves its own physical record. Share your story and see it take form: handmade, fired, finished, and unlike anything you can find elsewhere.
97“ by 5” by 2.5” Milestone Book Vases are available in white stoneware and white glaze. Client consultation required. Timeline 4–6 weeks from confirmation. Each piece is one-of-one.
COMMISSION TYPES ——-
Studio Collaborations Available
A BLK Wheelhouse studio collaboration produces custom ceramic objects for weddings, community events, corporate milestones, and curated retail environments. Storytelling moments made at scale, each one still shaped by hand, still carrying the weight of the occasion they were built for.
THE COMMISSION JOURNEY ——-
How Your Story Becomes Permanent
Tell the Story
You reach out through the commission inquiry form — or by email — and you share the moment you want preserved. Who it's for. What it meant. There is no wrong way to begin.
01
Proofing
To translate the story into form, a proof is shared following deposit. For fully customized pieces expect an exchange of notes where material choices are made: glaze, texture, size, inscriptions.
02
Craft & Kiln
The piece is shaped by hand, dried slowly, fired in the kiln, and finished with the particular patience that handmade work requires. This stage takes time.
03
Art Made
The finished piece arrives carefully packaged, It enters your home or the hands of the person it was made for.
04
Featured Glazes
-
![]()
Pasqual Glaze Test Tiles
-
![]()
Pasqual Glaze on White Stoneware
-
![]()
Guido Glaze Test Tiles
-
![]()
Guido Glaze on White Stoneware (Far Right)
-
![]()
Jane Glaze Test Tiles
-
![]()
Jane Glaze on White Stoneware
-
![]()
Van over Pasquel Glaze Test Tiles
-
![]()
Van over Pasquel Glaze on White Stoneware
You know who you are. We made this for you.
The Memory Keeper
PERSONAL COMMISSION
The one in the family who understands that sentimental objects are not indulgent but necessary. You have been searching for something worthy of the feeling. A love note that survived the years. A grandmother's name given its proper weight. You do not want a frame. You want something you can hold.
The Ritual Architect
CELEBRATION & EVENT
You design the gathering and you need the room to feel it. A maid of honor. A host. Someone building a bachelorette, a dinner party, a bridal shower, a birthday around something that will be remembered long past the last glass. You use BLK Wheelhouse to make the moment undeniable.
The Milestone Storyteller
LEGACY & ACHIEVEMENT
Someone is marking a life. A hall of fame. A retirement earned across decades of unglamorous, essential work. A graduation from a program that nearly broke them. You bring the pride and the gratitude, and the studio builds the object that holds all of it without asking it to explain itself.
The Creative Outsourcer
COLLABORATIVE CLIENT
You have the story. You do not have the tools, the time, or the hands. You want something that feels deeply specific to the person it's made for, and you know that requires someone whose craft is equal to your love for them. BLK Wheelhouse becomes your temporary creative partner. The idea is yours. The form is the studio's.
BEGIN A COMMISSION ——-
Start here.
A commission begins with a story. You do not need to arrive with a fully formed vision — that is the studio's work, not yours. What you bring is the feeling, the occasion, the person. The rest is made by hand.
Requesting a custom piece? What to include when you reach out:
Who the piece is for, and what the occasion is
Any names, dates, or words you'd like incorporated
Your timeline, when you need the piece in hand
Your budget range, so the studio can suggest the right form
Any reference images, heirlooms, or writing that carries the feeling you're after
How you heard about BLK Wheelhouse (always curious)
Current lead time is 4–6 weeks; inquire for rush availability. Fully custom commissions begin with a brief consultation, by email or phone, whichever feels more natural to you. Deposits are required to hold your production window.