Photo by Erin Gavile
Isabel Souza , or Izzy, first began playing with clay at an after school program. Born and raised in Truro, Massachusetts, Isabel absorbed the artist culture that is endemic to this part of Cape Cod and continued to play with pottery throughout her childhood. At the age of 10, she was granted a scholarship by Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill and pursued her ceramic studies through her time at Nauset Regional high School, where she studied with Amy Kandall.
In May of 2019, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BFA from Syracuse University, where she studied art and business. While in college, Isabel took advantage of an opportunity to study abroad in Florence Italy in 2018. After graduating, Izzy moved back to Cape Cod and has pursued the artist life on our sandbar.
Most cafe mugs popular in the specialty coffee world are mass-manufactured in China because we, coffee shop owners, need precision. If we sell 10oz cappuccinos and 12/16oz lattes, we need our mugs to be consistently 10oz, 12oz, and 16oz. We also need a certain level of durability since we are serving over 100 coffees per day. Finally, the ability to stack our mugs is key in a small space where so many items get knocked over.
Before we met Isabel, we ordered our mugs from well-known specialty coffee supply companies. In our search for a local potter who could make us custom mugs, we learned quickly that mass-producing stackable mugs of the same size was not something most artists could do (or wanted to do, most likely). Artists love the unique aspect of their work and are rarely excited by the opportunity to produce many of the same thing. And, let’s face it, the precision needed to throw 25 x 10oz mugs is not a skill that is easy to come by.
We met Isabel in the fall of 2019 and were blown away by the work she was producing at such a young age. Fresh out of college, Isabel looked like an early-twenty-something, but her demeanor was that of a refined and experienced business owner. When we began to discuss collaborating, we were blown away that every question we began with a “Can you do…” was answered with a definitive “Yes.” (Did we mention that we were blown away by Izzy?!) The ordering process was as easy as ordering from any of our previous suppliers. That is to say, this girl has the business savy merged with the artistry, a combination of skills that we know will take her far in her career.
The decision to work together to create our own custom, in-house mugs was an easy one, and we are thrilled to finally be able to serve our coffees in mugs that represent the creativity, saltiness, and talent of Cape Codders. And, we now have a selection of her retail products for sale!
photography by Erin Gavle and Isabel Souza
