Born and raised in Japan, Asami Hatanaka is a Los Angeles–based ceramic artist and the maker behind Asamono, her collection of functional and decorative ceramics. Before establishing her independent studio, Hatanaka spent several years running and teaching at a community ceramics studio in West Adams, Los Angeles. Her wheel-thrown and hand-built pieces are made for everyday use, bringing the scale and utility of Japanese tableware into conversation with the materials and sensibility of her life in California.

Working primarily in stoneware, Hatanaka often reshapes and trims wheel-thrown vessels away from the wheel, allowing their silhouettes to become softer and less uniform. She develops her surfaces through continued experiments with clay and glaze, embracing the shifts in color and texture that emerge during firing. Made in small batches, her work has a rustic, tactile quality balanced by comfortable proportions and a clear sense of function.