Elli immigrated to Canada from Austria, hoping to bring her hat designs to the Edmonton area. When she arrived she noticed that not too many locals were wearing hats. “Everyone was wearing many kinds of toques, but no hats,” she recalls. So Elli changed her focus to pottery and opened Clayworks Studio-Link. Years later, in the same location, Elli is still very content operating her pottery business and has no regrets about the twist of fate that took her from hats to clay.
Elli says the pottery work keeps her creative and she enjoys teaching students of all ages: the young, the retired and, her absolute favourite, children. She is even teaching at the University of Alberta in the extension program where students are earning credits towards their degree.
With a staff of three, Clayworks Studio-Link has been very successful creating many potters. Elli advises her students to, "try to relax and enjoy learning the wheel. You will be amazed at the results." To date, she has not disappointed anyone.
