Mikio Matsumoto worked as a broker in Japan, but always had a keen interest in the arts, becoming a potter after moving to California in 1985. 

Cheryl Costantini has had a life-long interest in pottery, culture and traditional artistic values. In 1978 she traveled to Japan to study pottery. For the next 6 years she learned her craft by working in three Japanese potteries. Cheryl’s commitment to tradition rather than trend is seen in her elegant vases and classic teapots.

Cheryl and Mikio formed Nichibei in 1985. Since then, the husband and wife team have shown their work at exhibitions in California, New York and Japan. Literally translated, Nichibei means “Japan and America.”