The Wheel doesn't have a website. People have never heard of them. They are off the map and that's okay with them. In fact, they're doing quite well with their low profile. I found out about them from Liz at Zenbu Sushi in La Jolla.

Michael Totah, the owner of The Wheel, started making pottery in college, then about 10 years ago, started selling to some restaurants. His work for restaurants grew by word of mouth. He then started distributing through a restaurant supply company and is now selling to restaurants across the country. Some of his clients include The Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, Roppongi, Cafe Japengo, PF Chang's, MGM, Hyatt, Roy's, and Harrah's.

All his pottery is made with clay and glaze that are fired at a very high temperature making the final piece very against chipping. Everything can be custom made or you can choose from one of their standard designs. Large dinner plates are about $20. Smaller items are less and larger items are more, so you can kind of guess at the prices of mugs and platters. As you can see below, this is true handmade pottery.

It was interesting to learn about Chinese pottery where they have a long tradition of making it. There are many skilled people in the pottery world there, and with low labor costs, they can produce high quality pottery (if you know what to look for) at a low price. What I've personally seen, though, has looked like standard factory china and lacks character.

Here's Mike inspecting a large order from one of his clients.

If you want to buy dishes for a restaurant, call Chris at 760-840-0483 with LA Marketing Group. Chris works with a marketing company that sells The Wheels products, along with other dishes and flatware. Chris estimated that an initial order for a small restaurant at $15,000 to $20,000, plus another $3,000 for flatware. If you just want a few dishes for your house, you can stop by The Wheel at 835 Vulcan Ave in Leucadia a few blocks from the ocean, or call them at 760-942-2351.