Chunky Potz; A funky and fun reinvention of hand-built pottery
Written by Avery Escamilla-Wendell | December 2, 2025
A new form of pots has made its way through Dallas, Texas with Chunky Potz. Straying away from the ordinary ceramic pots, Chunky Potz brings a new twist inspired by bold colors, elephants, and Latino culture.
Alex Martinez, owner of Chunky Potz, was inspired to create his business with his hobby of collecting rare succulents, agaves, and cacti. After a while, Martinez wanted the pots to match the aesthetic of his plants.
“I started doing some research and I’d seen there was some potters in California, Arizona, just different places,” Martinez said.
However, after not being able to find local potters in Dallas, Martinez took it upon himself to take a two-hour pottery class. Immediately after, he was hooked to the basics of pottery. This took Martinez to research what clay and other supplies he needed.
“I just bought clay and then started out with 50 pounds of raku clay, then worked myself from there,” Martinez said. “I bought me a sponge, a couple of little tools that you need and then after a rib and then started working.”
After this, Martinez realized he needed to find a bisque, to fire his creations. After finding a store with a bisque in Arlington, he quickly realized he needed glaze.
“I had a final product, and I was like ‘man this is cool,’" Martinez said. “If I could make this, I know there’s some more things in my head I could create and bring them to life.
Martinez found his inspiration to create his pots with legs after watching a documentary on elephants on TV.
“We were looking at the Discovery Channel, and they were talking about elephants, and I was like ‘I wonder if anybody’s ever made a pot with legs like that,” Martinez said.
This also made Martinez think about his mother's molcajete and how it has little legs. So, he went ahead and combined the two into his pot creations. As part of his Latino heritage, Martinez also combines Aztec symbols into many of his creations based on the Aztec Calendar.
“I started doing some pots that have Aztec symbols that kind of goes with our culture,” Martinez said.
Besides creating pots, Martinez’s day-to-day job is owning a motorcycle shop and working as a mechanic, one in Dallas and the other in Grand Prairie where he also works on his pottery.
Throughout the week, Martinez makes around 30 to 40 pots each week varying in different shapes and sizes.
“It’s not like 30 of them are finished,” Martinez said. “All my inventory I have to get ready for spring, so I will have to build all my inventory January through March so that I can be ready for spring and summer.”
Besides staying local, within the last nine months, Martinez has been able to showcase his pottery in California, Austin, and San Antonio and has shipped his pots to many other places like Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Nevada, New Mexico and Houston, Texas.
Martinez plans to open a shop in Dallas soon to sell the work of Chunky Potz.
“I am going to open a location up in Dallas where people could pick up pottery and plants,” Martinez said.
With his love for creating and giving a new spin on everyday pots, Martinez continues to create daily. For now, customers are welcome to contact Martinez on Instagram @Chunky_Potz and view other events Chunky Potz will be at. Chunky Potz will be showcased and sold at the Dallas Arboretum on various days from November 19 through December 30.
Follow Chunky Potz:
Instagram: @Chunky_Potz
