Greek lifestyle brand Linum, founded by Zanet Fotiadi and Maria Papadatou, has transformed into an international ceramics business with 5.8 million TikTok likes.
The company started in 2022 with a plan to make candles and room fragrances, but pivoted after customers repeatedly asked to purchase the handmade ceramic vessels holding the wax.
What was initially designed as packaging soon altered the entire direction of the enterprise. By 2024, two years after launching, the founders had placed handcrafted ceramics at the core of their operations and opened their first physical retail shop.
Customer demand and product shift
Linum has since broadened its catalogue beyond pottery to include blown glass pieces and personalised homeware crafted to individual specifications.
To support the expansion, the company now employs 15 workers and runs regular public workshops from its studio.
Boutique candle makers often start by sourcing or making distinct vessels to stand out in a crowded home scent market. In Linum's case, customer demand for the clay pots outpaced interest in the scented wax, prompting the founders to invest directly in pottery production.
Artisanal ceramics involve shaping moist clay by hand or on a wheel before drying, glazing and firing the material at extreme heat in a kiln. Blown glass requires similar craft discipline, gathering molten silica on a pipe and shaping it with hand tools before controlled cooling.
International shipping and social media growth
The Greek studio paired those physical craft disciplines with video marketing on TikTok, where its posts have accumulated 5.8 million likes.
Short-form social video has become a dominant sales channel for independent artisans, where behind-the-scenes footage of clay throwing and kiln openings frequently attracts global audiences.
That online visibility helped turn domestic curiosity into overseas trade. Linum now ships its ceramic collections, blown glass and custom orders to customers across Europe, Canada and the United States.
The brand also uses its physical shop and studio to host in-person workshops, allowing visitors to learn pottery fundamentals while shopping the collection directly.
