An Approach To Good Design | Dan Mark | Episode 1201
The Potters Cast
Paul Blais
4.9 • 590 Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dan Mack started working with clay in high school, where he was immediately captivated—maybe from a family history of artists, or from being introduced to clay at a young age by his uncle. That early spark took hold, and Dan spent his school lunches in the pottery studio, teaching himself the craft by watching old videos of Hsin-Chuen Lin, carefully deciphering throwing techniques purely through observation. Dan now works out of his studio in San Francisco, California, using stoneware and reduction firing techniques. Surfaces are often left raw or minimally glazed to highlight the natural character of the clay. This keeps the focus where it began: with an obsession for form and technique, seen in the tension in the walls, the precision of trimming, and the timelessness of his shapes.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is the Potter's Cast, a podcast home for Potters Everywhere. |
| 0:05.5 | It's a community of Potters dedicated to grow their business. |
| 0:08.8 | We're picking up where the art degree ends. |
| 0:11.2 | I'm your host, Paul Blaze. |
| 0:14.5 | Hello and welcome to episode number 1,201 of the Potter's cast. |
| 0:23.3 | What a weekend. |
| 0:25.0 | Got to just hang out at the studio. |
| 0:27.8 | Got to get a bunch of things done that were so needed to get done. |
| 0:32.0 | And it's just great to get work done and off the plate and to be able to move on from those little projects. So, yeah, |
| 0:39.7 | super stoked to have gotten things done at the studio. And I'm really stoked about our guest today. |
| 0:46.0 | His work just blows me away. I'm in love with his work, just totally in love with his work. |
| 0:52.4 | His name is Dan Mack. And we talked about |
| 0:57.2 | an approach to good design. And if you go to the show notes page for today, you're going to find |
| 1:04.0 | some beautiful drawings that he did as he makes his work. You'll see the pieces that he made, |
| 1:09.0 | but also all the drawings that he does. |
| 1:11.1 | It's just so moving. And his insights on his approach to design, good design, is really |
| 1:19.2 | encouraging and amazing. So I'm really looking forward to bringing this to you. So let's jump |
| 1:23.9 | into this conversation that I had with Dan Mack right after this word from our sponsor. |
| 1:28.5 | It might be time to add a splash of color to your making process. |
| 1:33.4 | I'm talking about the play ribs by Tortuga Tools, where you can add some color to your toolkit with their eco-conscious play ribs available in three vibrant colors. |
| 1:47.0 | That's what I'm talking about, berry, lemon line, and papaya. |
| 1:51.0 | Check out these amazing ribs they have on their website. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Paul Blais, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Paul Blais and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.