Case Study: Turn Studio achieves ecommerce success and 40,000+ Instagram followers with Buffer

How Turn Studio Transitioned a Side Project into a Thriving Ecommerce Business with Instagram

Turn Studio is a San Francisco–based ceramics brand founded by designer‑maker Kenny Sing as a 2016 side project. The challenge was turning a passion for intricate pottery into a viable ecommerce business while breaking through a crowded Instagram landscape to find customers and build a loyal audience.

Sing methodically rode a rising pottery trend by tagging influencers, “hacking” contest hashtags for discoverability, and building a consistent visual voice (personal captions, responsive engagement). He prioritized quality over quantity, optimized posting times, leaned on strategic hashtags and Stories, and tracked key metrics. The result: more than 40,000 followers, thousands in revenue, roughly half of impressions coming from non‑followers, and viral exposure (a Design Milk pickup drove a post to 108,000+ views), putting Turn Studio on a path to a self‑sustaining business.

Turn Studio

Kenny Sing

Founder and Chief Executive Officer