12,434 km - that is about how much the Australian Emily Baggott traveled from her home country to what is now where she lives, Istanbul, Turkey. What was supposed to be a Euro Summer trip turned her life upside down - and for the better!

The year was 2018 and this young teacher decided to have a little bit of an adventure around Europe, and in her schedule was also a small stop in Istanbul to visit a cousin that happens to live in the city. The problem is that Emily fell in love with Istanbul and in the most spontaneous move, decided to not take her flight back and stay.

While building a new life has its challenges alone, a little over a year in and she faced the start of this weird moment in the world, the Covid pandemic. Going back was never an option, since Australia had its borders closed and Istanbul shut down.

With the uncertainty in life and lockdown, Emily decided to focus her inner energy on what she loves to do the most: create. It was always on her life to-do list to learn how to make ceramic pieces - but what would be a better time to learn a new thing other than while locked in? It was during a deep search in YouTube that she discovered the world of ‘Ceramic ASMR’ and step by step amateur videos on how to make your own pieces at home. After watching hours and hours and being completely tranced by the almost therapeutic calmness that it brought, she decided to give it a go.

“It all started as a way to distract myself from everything that was happening around me during the COVID lockdowns. The endless free hours in the day began to take its toll, so I needed to find a hobby. Ceramics is everything, it’s therapy, it’s artistic, it’s unforgiving - like when you spend hours on a piece and it cracks or breaks, you learn copious amounts of patience and persistence.”

From that, she made small and medium cups alongside a few plates and decided to sell them online, giving birth to Posy Ceramics. What started as a small batch of products, selling mostly to her friends, became what is now her 24/7 business.

“One day I made a video on Instagram reels showing how I make and glaze my mugs and it went viral. I woke up the next day with thousands and thousands of followers loving what I make”, she told The Dank Project. When she started Posy, Emily had the intention of keeping it as a side job. Between being a teacher and using her free time to make small batches of objects, she had the intention of making her brand big one day, but never expected to happen this fast - Posy Ceramics has now over 60 thousand followers and attends a high demand of purchasing requests both in Turkey and internationally.

“It is crazy, I am living for Posy right now” she says, knowing she accomplished every artisans dream: to live off their passion. The demand is so high at the moment, the Australian left her “main” job and is now officially her own boss.

Posy Studio

“Bold Prints. That’s my big love. In fashion, you see all these prints giving such personality to a piece. That is what I try to bring to Posy: personality through prints - drinkable art!” Indeed she does! Her unique designs will be produced in what is now her very own space: Posy Studio. “The idea now is to have a local drop [Turkey] and one international every week.”

So far Emily has had seven drops, each drop containing up to 30 one-of-a-kind handmade pieces featuring candle holders, mugs, plates, bowls and decor. Every single drop sold out within minutes after posting on Posy’s Instagram profile. “I never had a chance to actually make a website because everything is sold on before I even have a chance to upload all the pictures!”

“All of my pieces are made with high grade earthenware clay and food safe/non toxic Underglaze that I hand paint on and then covered in a clear Transparent glaze and fired twice in a kiln between 900-1040 °C.”

Well, now she will be able to produce more and more! Posy Studio is almost here. While everything is yet to be ready, Emily spends all her time painting, decorating and organizing the studio in Moda, a neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul. “In the future I want to hold events, workshops and whatever else!”

For the moment you can find Posy on their official Instagram profile and wait for the next drop!