Bad Dogs Studio was founded in 2021 by Rachel Hawkins-Tam and her brother Dan. At the time, Rachel had been making wheel thrown pottery for seven years, and selling her work in the Boston area for three. Dan had just begun carving spoons and spatulas from our parent’s firewood pile in Maine (and he had great tutelage from our dad, a lifelong woodworker). Together, they sold their ceramic and wooden wares at craft shows in and around Portland, Oregon while working their respective jobs as an elementary art teacher (Rachel) and an architect and carpenter (Dan.)

In 2024, Rachel left her teaching job to pursue Bad Dogs full time, and Dan started Bodge, where he sells his woodwork and teaches workshops. Today, Rachel runs the business with the help of her husband Geoff, along with their two dogs, Sadie and Cersei, and their new little one, June.