This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

The Object Enthusiast is the ceramics brand and studio of Kansas City artist Emily Reinhardt, founded in 2011, producing hand-built, “perfectly imperfect” functional pottery — vessels, mugs, vases, wall works, and one-of-a-kind pieces — in a wabi-sabi aesthetic.123 The working studio operates from the back of Duet, a design-forward art-and-object gift shop Reinhardt co-founded in 2020 with Sasha Santillan at 517 E 18th Street in the East Crossroads, KCMO.145 Both the online shop and the physical studio/storefront are active.15

Description

The Object Enthusiast is the ceramics line of designer and ceramicist Emily Reinhardt, who designs and hand-builds one-of-a-kind objects for the home — plates, vases, wall hangings, tumblers, mugs, goblets, and trays — from her Crossroads Arts District studio in Kansas City.13 The work is characterized by “perfectly imperfect shapes and stunning surface design,” using glazes, gold-luster accents, patterns, and textural elements, and is frequently described through the lens of wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in natural imperfection.23

Reinhardt frames her practice around the idea that objects and mementos carry memory and meaning for the people who hold them, aiming to make pieces that “bring joy and meaning into someone else’s world.”6 Note: the brand is not documented as a dedicated maker of memorial keepsakes or urns — primary and press sources describe functional home-goods ceramics and custom commissions, not a memorial product line.

Ownership and history

Emily Reinhardt founded The Object Enthusiast in 2011 after graduating from Kansas State University, where she discovered ceramics roughly two weeks into a college elective and decided pottery was her path.23 She is the sole owner and maker behind the brand.26

In November 2020, Reinhardt co-founded Duet, a brick-and-mortar shop in Kansas City’s East Crossroads, with Sasha Santillan.24 Duet is described as a multi-use space combining retail (design-forward art and everyday objects), a gallery, and a working ceramics studio — Reinhardt has described the value of “a studio, gallery and shop all in one place … we make the work here; we show the work here; and we sell the work here.”2 Per Duet’s own site, the shop is “curated by Sasha,” while the back of the space houses Reinhardt’s ceramics studio.4 The Object Enthusiast’s official site lists the studio address and hours identical to Duet’s, confirming the co-located arrangement.15

Reinhardt also teaches ceramics (through a KC workshop program) and authored The Beginner’s Guide to Decorating Pottery (2023).136 She is Kansas City-based; a specific born-and-raised KC hometown origin is not documented in available sources.

Sources

Disputes

None at this time. (One minor cross-source discrepancy was resolved: an early search snippet named Reinhardt’s partner “Kevin Umana” as a Duet collaborator, but the official Duet site and Startland News both name Sasha Santillan as co-founder; Santillan is treated as authoritative.)

Footnotes

  1. https://www.theobjectenthusiast.com/ and https://www.theobjectenthusiast.com/pages/about — asserts: Emily Reinhardt is the ceramic artist/designer behind The Object Enthusiast, founded 2011; based in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District; products include functional vessels, wall works, one-of-a-kind pieces, mugs, vases, goblets, trays, plates, and a pottery-decorating book; co-founded Duet, which shares her studio space; teaches ceramics; active online shop; studio at 517 E 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108 with listed hours. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  2. https://startlandnews.com/2021/02/emily-reinhardt-object-enthusiast/ — asserts: Reinhardt founded The Object Enthusiast in 2011 after graduating from Kansas State University; discovered ceramics ~two weeks into a college elective; opened Duet storefront in the East Crossroads in November 2020 with co-owner Sasha Santillan as a 3-in-1 retail/gallery/studio space; work described via “wabi-sabi”; quote on studio/gallery/shop in one place. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. https://www.theobjectenthusiast.com/pages/about (and corroborating design press, e.g., coolhunting.com) — asserts: “beautiful, functional ceramic objects for the home”; “perfectly imperfect shapes and stunning surface design,” glazes, gold-luster accents, patterns, texture; portfolio of plates, vases, wall hangings, tumblers, mugs, goblets, trays; founded 2011. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. https://www.shop-duet.com/pages/about-us — asserts: Duet founded in 2020 by Sasha Santillan and Emily Reinhardt; “an art and object gift shop in Kansas City’s Crossroads Art District”; “curated by Sasha”; design-forward goods including handcrafted ceramics, candles, jewelry, home decor; back of the space houses a shared ceramic studio for The Object Enthusiast. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. https://www.yelp.com/biz/duet-kansas-city and https://bippermedia.com/stores/united-states/missouri/kansas-city/duet-reviews-duet-at-517-e-18th-st-kansas-city-mo-64108/ — asserts: Duet located at 517 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108; home decor / gift shop; 2025 hours Wed–Sat 11am–6pm, Sun 12–4pm, Mon–Tue closed; phone (816) 200-0342; active listing (updated 2025). (Yelp page returned 403 to direct fetch; address/hours corroborated via search snippet + Bipper Media listing + official site.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. https://canvasrebel.com/meet-emily-reinhardt/ — asserts: Emily Reinhardt creates small annual ceramic collections and custom commissions; philosophy that objects hold memory/meaning (“create objects that bring … joy and meaning into someone else’s world”); maintains Duet retail location stocked with her ceramics; published The Beginner’s Guide to Decorating Pottery (2023); active as of March 2023. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

See also

  • Registry
  • Owner-And-History-Research-Toolchain
Categories
  • Kansas City–owned
  • Crossroads