ABOUT

My name is María José but since I was a child my family and friends have called me Cóte. I was born and raised in Chile, and for more than a decade I lived in New York City. I’m the mother of two amazing kids and currently live with them and my husband in Chile.

In 2015 a very hard episode in my life began. My dad was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer and he lost the battle at a very fast pace.

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My love for handmade objects led me to take my very first class of pottery as a way of therapy. I discovered the healing process of clay and it became my way of processing the pain, transforming all the sadness of my loss into something beautiful.

I left my freelance job as a set designer to slowly turn my hobby into a full time craft.  I worked from my studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn among a community of very talented makers and designers and during the pandemic years I decided to move back to Chile for some time.

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I have always been attracted to beauty, in the perfect imperfection of things and elegant simplicity. Nostalgia and memories of Latin America are present in my pieces, finding inspiration in nature, handmade crafts and textiles from the places I travel to.

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On April of 2023, my 12 year old boy was diagnosed with bone cancer and once again my life took a sharp and scary turn . After living the toughest year I could ever imagine, I opened HAGU WORKSHOPS which is a cozy space to invite people to heal, connect, love and to calm through clay,

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We have each other,

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Hugs

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