Two friends who connected through their passion for ceramics and life at the end of the road in Playa Cambutal, Panama.

We believe that art is not just a luxury for the chosen few; it’s a fundamental part of human expression and experience.

Everyone can enjoy, create and connect through art.

Art is for everyone.

Stephano Usteri, Co-Founder

After  completing his apprenticeship as a ceramist in Zurich, Stephano's life transformed into an extensive nomadic journey around the world. He was involved in the diamond trade as a stone sculptor and interior designer, engaged with an African orphanage, and achieved a gold medal as a snowboard coach for the Sri Lankan team at the first South Asia Olympic Winter Games. Over the past decade, he has worked as a film director on numerous commercials and has won a Grand Prix at Cannes.

Stephano has spent the last 6 years living in Cambutal, where he and his longtime partner Duy constructed a boutique hotel, the Hill Panama, that is now featured in Architectural Digest magazine. After all these experiences in life, he has returned back to his roots and made the decision to open a creative space in Cambutal with his wonderful studio partner Katja (WaveHouse Cambutal). As a trained ceramist, he shares his knowledge in workshops for all skill levels, from beginners to advanced, infusing them with the energy shaped by his life experiences.mote beach and jungle community in Panama.

Katja Asaro,  Co-Founder

Katja was raised in Denmark in a creative family that encouraged endless curiosity, experimentation and open-mindedness . Her grandmother was a painter and teacher of fine arts and she introduced Katja to creative play of all kinds..

From an early age, art was a big part of her life, but she truly found pottery when she lived in Portland Oregon,  while juggling raising a family and managing a large scale event production company. 

Katja had her own studio in Portland from 2010-2020, where she and her son Atlas co-created and shared in their passion for ceramics.

Despite being a perfectionist at heart, she is drawn to practices that embrace exploration and permit failure (opposites attract afterall). Making pottery requires the ability to take risks at the expense of potentially “ruining your work”, which could lead to discoveries we might not uncover otherwise.  Sometimes failure is a happy mistake.  In light of this, Katja will still try to teach you how to make the perfect pot. If we fail, we will scream for a moment, and then move on.