Claire Alba

When I was little, I made my own barbie dream house out of my mom's plant stands, tissues, pieces of plastic, hair clips - whatever I could find (Barbie and Ken slept under a fur blanket). In college, I hand-painted glassware that I then sold to the local gourmet food market. I created a publication that I distributed to the growing Latino community in NC - with information on health fairs, job fairs, dances - and to give them an opportunity to advertise their businesses. And, as an avid salsa dancer, I made a video documentary on the history of salsa music. I have tried my hand at many things - and ceramics has been a longstanding passion.

Here's the backstory on that ...

While at a bead shop with my mom (because I wanted to make my own version of a necklace I'd seen), she leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "you should make your own beads." I literally covered my ears because the idea seemed so complicated and overwhelming and I had two little kids at home. Although...(quickly rethinking my obstinance) I figured those two little kids would probably love some clay to play around with. Long story short, just a few months later, I was shopping for a kiln! That was 2009. I named my company after my daughters, Coco and Cori (or Cori and Coco, really). I still make jewelry and it can be found on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/corico.

Ok, so a few years after getting that kiln, I was at a party with friends, putting out a dish of olives and another little dish with a chewed up pit in it so everyone would know where to discard their pits. I wondered why no one had made a serving dish that would be both elegant for serving and practical in hiding the pits; I wanted one! I also worked for many years as a potter in NYC, hand-building plate ware for restaurants all over the globe, including Manhattan's famed Momofuku. So since I had the kiln and the know-how ... I set out to make this olive boat that would also hide the pits! 

What I came up with is simple, clever, and the reaction I most often get is, "Why didn't I think of that? You know, that would be great for cherries".
Enter ... the cherry bowl :)

They're called the olive boat and the cherry bowl, but really, they are great for all sorts of things like: pistachios, dates, shrimp cocktail, shishito peppers, strawberries, and more!

So here you have it - jewelry to make you look good, serving dishes to make your table look good - all conversation starters to boot! :)

That's the story! Now go get dressed up, make good food, and have friends over - often!

— Claire