The first guest of our “Conversations in Pursuit of Happiness” series is Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar, the founder and Design Director of the handmade porcelain brand Casi Paped.

Özge Zeki: Hello everyone, today we are holding the first session of our “Conversations in Pursuit of Happiness” series. Happiness is one of the most sought-after and focused topics for all of us today. Of course, we have many reasons to be happy, but sometimes we forget everything and find ourselves in pursuit of happiness. At this point, doing what we love and working towards our ideals are among the most important factors that automatically make us happy. Today, we will host someone who has dedicated herself to the work she loves as our first guest: Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar, the founder and Design Director of the handmade porcelain brand Casi Paped. Now I’d like to ask her this question: How much does doing what you love make a person happy, and what do you do for happiness?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: First of all, hello to everyone, and Özge, hello to you. This will be the first time I’m a guest on a program within my own world. I’d also like to welcome you to the colorful world of Casi Paped. Happiness is, of course, a broad concept—both easy and difficult at the same time. If you ask where happiness begins, I believe it generally starts within the family. After that, as we progress through education and work life, it becomes very important for a person to develop hobbies. Children should be introduced to hobbies because these choices can later lead to careers or the arts, guiding different areas of life. I believe that a person needs to be surrounded by different values in life. Beyond the love of family or children, there are elements in life that can make us happy. The more we equip ourselves with these elements, the happier we become. On the contrary, when we are pressured by obligations, reaching happiness becomes more difficult. We can actually find happiness in small things, too. For example, here we produce handmade porcelain products. Colors and textures make us happy, and I’ll share more details about them as we go along.

Özge Zeki: Yes, you managed an event and advertising agency for many years and you are still continuing this role. How did you transition from this field to the world of design?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: Actually, everything feeds into each other. I’ll go back to the beginning again: family, hobbies, sports, education, career choice… For years, I worked in advertising and event management. These jobs require creativity and organizational skills, and they are intertwined. I worked in a high-paced environment that required bringing together many different elements. I constantly had to be innovative and up-to-date. But since childhood, cycling has been a hobby that nourished me. Cycling connects you with nature—the smell of the earth, the trees, the greenery—it has always given me energy. Similarly, I’ve had a Lego collection since I was young. I find rare pieces from abroad and add them to my collection. The designs I create today are actually influenced by these hobbies: colors, designs, everything comes together. The designs of the pieces are like the three-dimensional aspect of Lego itself. So, what started as a hobby eventually led to creating Casi Paped.

Özge Zeki: You’ve managed to reflect this hobby into your work, and the happiness-inducing world of colors adds another layer. As we discussed earlier, everything that surrounds us can be a small source of happiness for us… So, how did you eventually move into this field?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: While continuing my job, I’ve always been someone who likes to stay busy. I started working with ceramics. But here’s the thing about ceramics: it’s a beautiful and enjoyable field—hand-shaping, producing amazing three-dimensional objects. However, the unpredictability that comes with the glazing process at the end caused me a lot of stress. Then I realized, my work also involves computers, and I prefer more industrial things, more three-dimensional objects, which stems from my love of Lego and creating my own designs. While learning ceramics, I discovered I liked porcelain more—it’s simpler, more monochromatic. Personally, I prefer minimalistic and modern designs. So, I started learning this craft in porcelain workshops. I worked in many workshops, learned a lot. I learned SolidWorks, bought 3D printers, and we started drawing our designs in our agency, in our office. We printed 3D models of these designs, made molds from them, and slowly built our collection.

Özge Zeki: When exactly did the brand start?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: It started in 2020, so it’s been four years—it’s still a baby brand. And by “baby brand,” I mean we actually have a small workshop in Bebek. At first, I was doing everything by hand on my own in this small workshop. Now we have two team members working with us. But of course, when we get large orders, especially from hotels, restaurants, or chefs, we work with our partner workshops and sister studios. Together, we expand our production capacity quickly. Meanwhile, we continue developing designs. For example, what do we do? We create new trend collections and colors based on the trending colors of each season. Color is both a source of happiness and a topic on its own. There’s actually a global connection between Pantone’s chosen colors and collective psychological well-being, and they decide these based on research. We follow these trends too. People really want to see these colors. For example, this year had some delightful shades like lilac, melon, and peach fuzz—a very interesting tone that no one would think of. Colors play a big role in our choices. For instance, you open your kitchen cabinet at home, and there’s a beautiful melon-colored cup, and instinctively, your hand reaches for it. And honestly, when I sip my coffee from it, I truly enjoy the experience.

Özge Zeki: Yes, colors have such an impact. Especially when it comes to coffee, I’ve noticed that you’ve dedicated a wide category to it. Did you feel a particular need for that?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: Actually, our starting point was our Turkish coffee cup, Josephine. Before I get into that, let me explain the name Casi Paped. ‘Casi’ is my dog, ‘Pap’ is my parrot, and ‘Edward’ is my cat. So, the brand name comes from my beloved pets. Josephine is also the name of one of my cats. Even though our workshop is small, we have four cats in there. We also take care of around 15-20 cats in the neighborhood. We have an agreement with them—they don’t harm anything, which is impressive because a porcelain workshop is a delicate place with many breakable items. Surprisingly, they follow the rules and are very careful!

Özge Zeki: Why did you choose the Turkish coffee cup as your starting point?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: I wanted to bring a modern, ergonomic form to the Turkish coffee cup, and I believe I achieved that. We created a very simple yet elegant design. It’s also very enjoyable to drink coffee from it, and it’s great for reading fortunes—beautiful fortunes come out! 😊 Even though it’s a simple design, creating even something simple takes time. We worked extensively on the handle alone, and in the end, we developed a design that’s both functional and easy to use. It became a modern Turkish coffee cup that’s practical and elegant.

Özge Zeki: I think you initially had versions where the inside and outside had different colors…

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: Yes, we experimented with many colors but eventually settled on more minimalist tones. We love playing with colors. We also have cups for espresso, filter coffee, and lattes.

For our espresso cups, we were inspired by the ridged patterns of Lego. Our designs always reflect our Lego hobby. We applied the same approach to our vases, creating matte and rounded forms.

Özge Zeki: How did the form of the “Puffer Mug” come about?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: It’s a shape that we’re not really used to, and it’s a bit playful. Since I love the sea, it ended up resembling a puffer fish, hence the name “Puffer.” Actually, most of our designs are connected to creatures or names in nature. These designs are related to the animals that have entered my life or hold a special place in my world. Their origins always come from small connections like that. Little things can truly bring great happiness. If we talk about happiness, you could eat from any plate or drink from any cup. But sometimes, when you make a small change in your life—a cup, a plate, or the color of that plate—it’s possible to capture small moments of joy. At Casi Paped, we aim to bring those little moments of happiness to the people who follow us.

Özge Zeki: Looking at your product categories, you have coffee cups, vases, and serving presentations…

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: Yes, we have serving presentations, decorative objects, and candle holders. We designed the decorative lips to bring color into homes. We have candle holders, and vases that follow the same design. We also have a more minimalist series, with granulated textures, as well as a colorful series. We update our colors seasonally, mostly working with pastel tones, but when all the objects come together, they complement each other beautifully.

Özge Zeki: So, who are the people that choose Casi Paped the most?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: I’d say it’s mostly people who want to find happiness and seek little changes to capture that happiness. Some chefs, who want to present something different, choose us. We also have young friends who love following trends and enjoy a fun outlook on life. There’s also a lovely group of older people who want to bring some color into their lives and renew everything. So, we have a broad audience. But overall, I think it’s those who chase small moments of joy who prefer us.

Özge Zeki: Additionally, we’re moving into a new season now. Do you update your colors or designs at the start of each season? What are this year’s innovations? Do you have any ongoing projects?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: This year, we’re taking things a bit slower. Last year, we created some beautiful colors. For next summer, we’ll have a stunning collection, with a theme and an internal variation of themes. Besides that, we have a wonderful project with chefs, and we’re running our “Casi Paped Friends & Family” project. We’re collaborating with chefs, baristas, and florists, and we’ll be introducing new designs through their presentations. There will be surprises!

Özge Zeki: So, what’s a typical day like at the office? What do you do when you arrive?

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: We have ongoing work with our regular clients from the agency side. Besides that, after leaving home, I first visit the workshop to check on the system. We hold a weekly meeting to go over the progress in the workshop. Once a month, we hold product development meetings. We also have meetings with our clients regarding the agency side, discussing how our designs are progressing throughout the day.

Özge Zeki: It’s wonderful that you continue to stay happy while doing the work you love. I hope we get to see even bigger projects and collections from you. Thank you again for being the first guest on our show.

Şebnem Celepoğlu Dindar: Thank you so much. I was really happy to be here. It was a pleasure to welcome you into our world.