Navigating the restaurant world is demanding, but Lori Muñoz has wholeheartedly embraced it for 15 years. One thing she’s always loved more, though, is being behind a potter’s wheel. Amid the unexpected upheaval of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, a silver lining emerged when the restaurant where she’d been working scaled back to takeout and she found herself looking for new opportunities. She rekindled her love for ceramics, ultimately leading her to start her own business, Lorita Makes.

Muñoz’s love for pottery started when she took classes in high school and later at San Antonio College and the University of Texas at San Antonio. She moved to Houston in 2012, and serendipity brought her to the doorstep of a fellow artist, Mimi Do, who generously allowed Muñoz to rent her backyard studio.

She initially started making pottery just for the sheer joy of it. Her first creations were small plant pots, a nod to a love for plants nurtured by her sister’s expertise as a horticulturist. As her confidence grew, so did her ambitions. She began experimenting with coffee mugs and other whimsical pieces that reflected a colorful and playful aesthetic.

Her maximalist style draws influences from her childhood, particularly the ’80s and ’90s. Cartoon icons like Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite and school supply brand Lisa Frank all left an inerasable mark on her work, which celebrates a sense of nostalgia. She still makes mugs and planters, as well as food-themed pipes shaped like conchas, doughnuts, and strawberries, and dinnerware commissions for her restaurant contacts. But Muñoz found her greatest passion in crafting lamps. Unlike her other works, where symmetry and uniformity reign, these grant her a different kind of spontaneity that’s at the heart of her artistry.

“With lamps, I have the most creative freedom to really just see where the clay takes me,” Muñoz says. “When I start making a piece, I just let the clay tell me what it wants to be. There are pieces that come organically, and that to me is what is most satisfying.”

For a time she taught a hand-building pottery class at McCheek’s Studio in the Heights, an experience she initially approached with uncertainty due to her preference for wheel-based pottery. Meeting the owner of the studio, Carole Smith, at a market in 2020 led her to connect with students and other artists who shared her passion for ceramics.

“The most gratifying part for me is helping them make a piece from start to finish, and then they get to drink from their own coffee mug at home every day that their own two hands made,” Muñoz says of teaching. “And I’m a part of that. And I love that.”

Just as her business started to pick up momentum, Muñoz got news that she had to leave her studio at Mimi Do’s. That’s when her journey took a pivotal turn: she formed a partnership with friends Stephanie Boullt and Mo Amer, the celebrated Alief-raised comedian who now has a hit Netflix show, Mo.

“Stephanie asked me what I was going to do, and I was thinking I’m going to have to start a GoFundMe and get some cheap garage to rent where I can throw a wheel and get a tiny kiln and just work in a small space to try and get by,” Muñoz says. “And she was like, ‘No, we’re not going to do that. We want to fund you.’”

Their support and belief in her talent propelled Lorita Makes to new heights. Boullt and Amer helped her secure a space in Spring Street Studios, acquire essential equipment, and establish an LLC. This partnership, along with her solid relationships in the restaurant industry, have opened doors for Muñoz, allowing her to embark on an exciting new chapter.

“They’re the most supportive people I know,” Muñoz says. “They gas me up, they’ve changed my life. I’m so overwhelmed in a good way.”

As Muñoz celebrates her 40th birthday at the end of 2023, she’s busier than ever. She still works at Nobie’s in Montrose, and in the fall she was making more than 150 pieces for the Neo team’s newest restaurant and 50 za’atar serving dishes in partnership with Amer. She has a few more community projects in the works before her website relaunches for 2024.

“Every time I walk into my studio, I’m just like, ‘Wow, this is my space,’” she says. “I remember being in high school as a kid and just knowing that this is a dream I wanted to do, and I was going to do it. It makes me cry all the happy tears just thinking about it.”