Twelve strangers arrive at a third-floor loft space in Ravenswood, Chicago, to learn how to throw pottery. But they are there for another reason, too.

Blind dates.

Mike Vicente plays matchmaker two to three times each month in his ceramics studio, PotteryChicago, carefully choosing six pairs from thousands of applicants.

“ It’s a lot of fun. It’s fun and stressful,” Vicente said.

Although Vicente has been on one “semi-blind” date before — where they coincidentally made pottery together — the inspiration for blind date nights at his studio was not born out of his own dating life.

Vicente stands at a small table balling up clay for the night, where he expects to go through around 60 pounds of clay.

He lines up the couples’ name cards on the throwing wheels along the wall of his studio, an area separated from the glazing table by shelves crowded with ceramics waiting to be picked up or glazed.

Vicente explains that he moved to Chicago three years ago, and was looking for ways to meet new people. He went to a ceramics studio, which was “familiar grounds” for him having done ceramics in high school.

“ It started as like me doing it once a month and then it picked up a bit more,” Vicente said.  “It got to the point where I was just looking for somewhere I could just engage in it … and practice more.”

He rented a corner of a florist’s studio and set up shop.

His friends started coming by and Vicente started teaching small classes. As time went on and his clientele grew, he began to expand. Today, Vicente operates half of the loft space, hosting social events and classes.

Owning a ceramics studio was not always the end goal for Vicente. He was a software engineer at Capital One but says he lacked passion for the work.

“ It was definitely a good career path, but I didn’t feel like I was fully able to be creative and produce something that I felt value in,” Vicente said. “So by making this little community and teaching people ceramics, I feel like it’s a lot more rewarding.”

At a social Vicente was hosting, he asked what people wanted to see and the overwhelming response was speed dating.

Vicente put his own twist on the idea, hosting his first pottery blind date event in December 2024.

Fast forward a few months and now people of all ages apply for his blind date nights.

Rosario Capote, a blind dater, said throwing pottery was on her vision board for the year. She’s hoping to meet “the one” soon, but is glad she is stepping out of her comfort zone doing something she enjoys and connecting with people.

“ I was on my way here, I was driving and I was feeling a little tingle sensation,” Capote said. “I don’t know if it was like nerves or excitement, maybe both.”

Applicants fill out a short form providing their basic information and answering two prompts: “Tell me about yourself”and “tell me about your ideal partner.”

The process of pairing people up can be challenging, Vicente admits, because he only has their self-descriptions and outward personas to go by — but more often than not, it works out well.

“For the most part people are spot-on and they click really well,” Vicente said. “Which I didn’t expect.”

Participants Sophie Levit and Sania Ali were paired together and stood in comfortable silence while they added small decorations to their bowls with potter’s needles. Levit says she enjoys activities that keep her engaged, although she was nervous and excited about going.

”Even if you don’t meet anyone, you’re still having fun,” Levit said. “ It’s a craft and then it’s a class, you know, hanging out.”

Ali agreed, saying she likes that she can meet people in Chicago doing something fun, even if it is not romantic.

“It’s like you’re bothered to get to know someone and bond over an activity,” Ali said. “I think that takes the pressure of dating off of (thinking,) ‘I need to be really fun.’”

After everyone is thoroughly covered in clay — some up to their elbows — Vicente pulls out a deck of icebreaker cards to hand out. He helps them get comfortable with each other and is more than happy to show them how to pull up the walls of a bowl or make a mug handle.

But he also takes time to step back and let the couples connect.

Zachary Crum has been doing a new activity each week that gets him out of the house for the past eight years. He said dating apps “suck” and he learned about blind dates at PotteryChicago through TikTok.

“ Even on first dates, I’m not nervous,” Crum said. “I’m confident in myself, and like I said, if I leave here with a piece of art, that’s the best thing I can hope for.” He planned to make a coffee mug for his mom for Mother’s Day during the class.

As the evening winds down, Vicente explains the glazing process and jokes that he won’t be checking in to see if the couples are still together.

While Crum may not have met his match on this particular blind date, he said he had a good experience and was happy he could meet new people.

Vicente says the growth of his studio has been largely by word of mouth.

“I think there’s just a huge demand for pottery, and moreover, for connecting with others,” Vicente said. “People find that here, but also everywhere else, so that’s why I love connecting with the different groups to just make stuff happen.”

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