Photograph by Art Holeman

Starting From Scratch

Jagmin had no clue how to manufacture plates or where to even begin. It took him several months to research the industry and find a dish maker he liked, in Japan. Then, he created decals, lined up manufacturers in Maryland and Louisiana to put it all together, and set up a Website, where he takes orders via e-mail.

Now, his plates are sold in two Phoenix boutiques – Frances Vintage and The Willows Home & Garden – as well as stores in Chicago and Boston. He’s talking with several more West Coast boutiques.
The first pieces came out last spring, including the number plates and a design he lovingly named after his mother, Barbara. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, and the landscape there inspired a nature scene with deer frolicking among loopy black and white foliage.

“It’s funny,” Jagmin says with a chuckle, “she liked the number plates more.”

Demand for that concept is so high that Jagmin is creating number mugs. “A lot of mathematicians call me,” he says.

One gentleman recently ordered a

No. 1 plate and a No. 3 plate, because 13 is his wife’s favorite number.

Jagmin is starting to roll out a new batch of designs this month, with phrases like “yes” and “no,” and the profiles of a boy and of a girl.