If you see a lava vase or similar item by Aloha Raku Pottery for sale, it’s OK to buy it. No curse will follow you home, because it’s not really made from lava, nor is it even from Hawaii island.

Maui-based Aloha Raku Pottery partners Javier Gaytan and Anthony Urango use a hand-tooling technique to make some of their clay pottery look like aa lava, and another technique to create the look of pahoe­hoe lava.

A quick kamaaina lesson for the uninitiated: Many believe it is bad luck to take lava rocks from Hawaii island, home of Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess. Do an online search and you will find countless stories of visitors from elsewhere mailing lava rocks back to the Big Island along with the bad-luck tales behind why they were returning the rocks.

Aloha Raku Pottery is created from "a Soldate 60 clay which (is) great for raku," said Gaytan. "It’s high in sand and grog to help with thermoshock." OK, that was a bit technical, but you can see the clay they use is devoid of actual lava rock from the Big Island.

Aloha Raku Pottery primarily offers, as its name indicates, pottery fired using the Japa­nese raku technique, which provides a distinctive, often iridescent finish.

They make honu (sea turtles), angels, crosses and other small figurines as well as vases, bowls, platters, decorative surfboards and other items.

"The vases and bowls are all hand-thrown," Gaytan said. "Our small figurines, like angels and honus, are first sculpted from clay, (and) then molds are made for production." However, "they are all hand-press molds," he said.

The two work at the business full time.

"We are machines," Gaytan said of himself and his business partner. "We wake up to raku and fall asleep to raku."

The company has added employees who help the business run more efficiently, and the partners are grateful for support from retailers and wholesalers. "We are truly blessed to have people like them in our lives," Gaytan said.

Their wares also are available online via Etsy, but the duo enjoys meeting customers face to face, which keeps them busy on the days of the week that they are not in the studio doing their ceramicist thing using homemade kilns.

Originally from Texas, Gaytan moved to Maui when he was 19. He immediately was, and continues to be, inspired by the Valley Isle. "It seemed unreal. It was picture-perfect, and I knew there would be no place I’d rather be," he said.

He made koa wood boxes for a time under the name K&T Koa Works, but once introduced to ceramics, he "never looked back," he said. Aloha Raku Pottery was established a year ago to reflect the direction the product lines had taken.

As do many isle residents, Gaytan frequently would visit Las Vegas. He was there to visit a girlfriend, but, unlike many isle residents, some time during his Vegas visits was spent in a pottery studio.

That’s where he first met Urango, who was working on a large vase. "I had never seen anyone work on such a large piece," he said, so he walked over and struck up a conversation.

"I told him I could really use someone like him back on Maui, (and) he kinda chuckled and said maybe," Gaytan recalled.

The two kept in periodic contact, "but two years went by and I received a call from him. He said he was ready for Maui and would be arriving in a week," Gaytan said. "I was kinda shocked. I didn’t know at the time, but he had saved for two years to be able to relocate."

Urango was born in Denver, grew up in Las Vegas and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Each enjoys "throwing" on the potter’s wheel, but Gaytan prefers making the smaller pieces. Urango still crafts the large items that weigh as much as 35 pounds, Gaytan said.

"We are a small company but we have a big vision," he said.

They have been working with new glazes and techniques in preparation for the Made in Hawaii Festival in August. "We are proud of our pieces, proud of what we do and proud to say it’s made on Maui," Gaytan said.

"Buy Local" runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter at @erikaengle.