Nathan and Anastasiia Allsop
Nathan throws and builds. Anastasiia sculpts and glazes. Between them: ceramic handbags, lamps with animals holding up the bulb, and planters with creatures living in the roots. They sell it as Higgledy Piggledy Art.
Two months, and that was it.
How did clay and pottery find you in the first place?
We have been doing art together for quite a while. In 2025 our main art was doll making. We were pretty actively participating in the Connect program at the Urban Arts Gallery, run by the Utah Arts Alliance. It is a monthly art competition where the winners are entered into a final competition at the end of the year. We ended up doing our most elaborate piece and won a $2000 grand prize.
Anastasiia decided we were going to put that money right back into art, and really wanted to try ceramics. She did a ton of research and found The Clay Hole. Initially, I (Nathan) wanted to have her go alone to try, but she wanted me to join because she was too shy to do it alone. I agreed to do it with her for 2 months, but that was it! Then she would be on her own.
It didn’t work out that way at all. Ceramics instantly had its hooks in both of us and now it is all we do! Haven’t made a doll since 2025!
He builds it. She gives it life.
What do you make, and which piece would you never part with?
I (Nathan) mostly throw things on the wheel or hand build the main structure of our pieces. Anastasiia is the one who gives them life. She does all of the sculpting and glazing that makes our pieces unique and fun.
We don’t think we have made anything yet that we are completely unwilling to part with. We love all of our pieces, and a little part of us is sad when they do sell and leave us, but we get so much joy out of seeing other people light up when they see something we put so much work into.
The two glazes they keep going back to.
Favorite glaze or combo in our library, and what made you loyal to it?
Nathan
My favorite glaze combo so far has been Seaweed on top of Oatmeal. It turned out so perfect on my matcha set, but I would be surprised if no one has figured out that combo before!
Anastasiia
Anastasiia is currently very loyal to the Coyote satin matte family of glazes. She loves how they can be applied to make something look ancient from the beginning.
What they created here at The Clay Hole.
A broken rim and a kiln full of white.
What’s the worst pottery disaster you’ve ever had?
Nathan
My worst disaster was that I had a bowl that I spent a lot of time doing some intricate carving on, and when it was bone dry it got picked up and the rim broke. Our initial reaction was being sad, but after we thought about it we thought it might be even cooler if we do kintsugi to repair it. It has been sitting at bisque stage for a while now, but I will get around to finishing it soon.
Anastasiia
For Anastasiia, she had a whole series of vases that she spent countless hours carving and glazing, only for them to all come out of the kiln a creamy white color. We still aren’t sure what happened, but all of the Stroke & Coat turned a milky white. Luckily she was able to fix all of them when we took them home with some enamel paint that cures at normal oven temps!
A language app, Turkey, Georgia, then Utah.
Who are you when you’re not covered in clay?
I (Nathan) grew up right here in Utah. I was working in IT for a long time until during the pandemic I decided to start studying Russian again out of boredom. I had taken it in high school for my language credits and wanted to pick it back up. I ended up meeting Anastasiia on a language learning site that connects you to native speakers of the language you are learning. She was living in St. Petersburg at the time and was looking to improve her English.
We hit it off and, making a very long story very short, we ended up getting married in Turkey and living in Georgia (the country) for a couple years while we waited on her visa process. Once the process was complete and we got to Utah, we really jumped into art and have been exploring it as much as we can!
The kid versions.
What were you like as a kid, and what did you want to be?
I was absolutely certain I was going to grow up to be an architect when I was a kid. Anastasiia was going to be a doctor. Neither of us ended up doing those things, although she got much closer than I did haha!
We were both very quiet, shy kids, and none of that changed as we got older. Probably only more quiet and shy as society has started embracing being introverted as normal behavior instead of like a disorder they had to fix when we were kids.
I was such a cookie cutter boring Utah kid that I don’t know if you could say I ever went through a “phase”, but Anastasiia definitely had her colorful phases as a teen! Her hair color changed as often as her mood! Lots of super fun photos from those years haha!
Weirdly good at.
What are you weirdly good at that has nothing to do with pottery?
I am weirdly good at throwing Frisbees with my feet. Like weirdly good, maybe better than with my hands?
Anastasiia can sit and all nearby animals will gather around her. It’s like a weird Disney princess thing, can’t be explained.
The part that took years.
What are you proudest of that has nothing to do with pottery?
We definitely share our proudest thing, and that is being here together. People don’t have a clue how difficult the immigration process is unless they have been through it themselves. Everyone sees 90 Day Fiancé or hears about green card marriages and thinks that people just snap their fingers and it’s done. It was years of large expenses and constant worry.
We were lucky enough to be able to live together through those years, but at some points it seemed like the whole universe was against us. Pandemic closing borders, wars breaking out in countries around us, record setting earthquakes hitting where we were, and having our paperwork moved between several different countries as we tried to navigate the geopolitics that come with our two countries in this current era. But we made it through all of it stronger than ever, and wouldn’t trade any of it for anything because of how close it made us.
Where to find their work.
Is your pottery online or for sale anywhere?
Yes, we have everything for sale. Much of it is on our website (as long as I do my job and post it). Anastasiia is much better about posting things on our Instagram and TikTok, where inquiries can be made.
We can also be found in person at various markets around, and we post all of those on our Instagram if you want to see where we will be. And finally we have a boutique shop in the Urban Arts Gallery in downtown Salt Lake at the Gateway, where a lot of our smaller stuff can be purchased in person as well.
Nathan and Anastasiia Allsop are members at The Clay Hole, a community pottery studio in Draper, Utah.