Needham Native Crafts Mindfulness into Ceramics

August 27, 2026
• Pottery with a Purpose, a wellness-focused business, moved late last year into its Needham studio, where it now hosts pottery workshops.

Sam Hoff’s basement regularly heated to more than 2,000 degrees — part of it, at least. It’s where she used to house her kiln, firing clay art pieces that she and other community members made.

Since starting Pottery with a Purpose out of her Needham home during the pandemic, Hoff said she’s watched the business take shape: one kiln became two, a staff of one (not counting Hoff’s husband) became three, and her home became just a home again, after they officially opened a studio on Crescent Road in October.

Hoff sees it all as full-circle. She grew up in Needham, and her parents still live in town.

“It’s just really special, in my hometown, to have a space that can welcome people,” Hoff said in her studio. “I always dreamed of owning my own business, but you never think you’re going to be able to make it happen.”

While at Needham High School, Hoff found her way to the ceramics program, where she “really fell in love with just how relaxing it is to mold clay with your hands and that tactile experience.” Her mission is to expose others to that calming experience in an effort to promote wellness.

“I want people to discover how, not just cool it is to create something with your own hands that’s pretty, but also just relaxing,” she said.

Recognizing her own wellness needs, she left the corporate world, later becoming a yoga teacher. That stint turned virtual during quarantine, causing Hoff to take a step back. Her mental health took a hit during covid, when she found herself overly occupied by her phone. Occupying her hands with pottery, “instead of clicking on all the clickers,” returned her sense of joy and creativity, she said.

She received her MBA in entrepreneurship from Babson College. Then, a lightbulb moment.

At-home ceramics turned into shipping clay kits, the foundation of the business. Its success led Hoff to bring her clay to corporate-sponsored wellness activities and to various teaching pop-ups around Boston. Pottery with a Purpose now hosts classes in about a dozen states, and their Crescent Road studio is the site for various pottery workshops.

Entering the studio last month, animal-themed creations lined much of the shelf space — Hoff organized a kids camp earlier this summer. Following a recent oyster plate class, finished plates sat near the kilns.

This week, the studio launched its first wheel-throwing series this week, wherein participants can learn how to create pottery on one of the six spinning wheels. They also plan to roll out memberships this fall.

The business has grown out of its humble, residential origins into something special, said Sammy Coombs, who dubbed herself the “studio mama.” She recalls packing pottery from Hoff’s dining room table and collecting finished pieces in a spare room in her house.

Their pop-ups in particular allow them “to share the accessibility of clay,” Coombs said, and their in-house workshops enable participants “to see where the magic happens.” She said the studio hopes to host a speed-friending event and find other ways to continue building community.

“It’s just so amazing seeing our shelves full of pottery and our seats full of people,” Coombs said.

During a visit, Hoff sat at one of the studio’s wheels, sculpting a slab of clay with her hands and a wet sponge. The process can be messy, as Hoff ended up with clay under her fingernails, on her denim jumpsuit and in her hair. However, it’s a rewarding one. Anyone can make something, she said, even if they’re not confident in their ability to.

Apart from hosting a Mindfulness Mud class — which combines aspects of breath work and meditation with pottery — Hoff also donates $1 per attendee and clay kit to different mental wellness initiatives, all chosen by those in her classes.

Sharing the value of mental well-being, particularly with the business world, is another component of Hoff’s mission.

“Art can be a really powerful way to care for your wellness,” she said. “I think that’s overlooked, and it’s really special to share that.”

Plus, attendees walk out of class with something one-of-one.

“There’s just something about a handmade mug, drinking out of it, it feels different than one that’s mass produced,” Hoff said with a smile. “Those are my most beloved and used items for sure.”