This picture had me thinking about Steve taking up pottery and well, whoops I have tripped over and out spills brainworms hehe.
Maybe Steve takes up pottery after an artsy excursion with Robin. A one-off class to accompany his best friend, or just sees Robin and her college buddies working through a sculpture class and he gets curious.
He loves it! Steve has always been handy, fixing things at home (or, figuring out what to do when he was way too young and left home alone). He was always good at shop class and enjoyed building something up from raw material.
But he finds that pottery has a creative and calming aspect to it he hasn't left before with a hobby, and the mess is kind of a thrill.
So, he starts with night classes to work in with the latest Stobin Job™. He gets good and starts networking with his classmates. Gets inspired and starts showcasing his creations with other students. He quietly observes those who sell their stuff at the studio. Maybe one classmate has a stall at a market. Eventually, he puts himself (or more, his vases and hand-sculpted weird creatures) out there and it takes off.
It becomes Steve's thing and before he knows it, it is time to invest in a studio space. Something he could share with Robin now that she is finishing college and needing to start her own art practice outside of the academic sphere.
It's probably an odd choice to set up shop beside at tattoo parlour but, the rent is too good to be true for the size of the space. Plus it's close enough to his apartment that Robin won't be worrying if he stays until all hours of the night.
Cut to said Tattoo Parlour owner Eddie Munson, who spots this cute guy wearing a pair of bright overalls, mud-stained boots and a tiiight white shirt hauling into the shop next door with vases, small pots... and undead monster sculptures??? Errr... That's a new one he couldn't have expected. But – how damn lucky is he to now be shop neighbours with a hot nerd. It leads to some mild staking out, of course. Y'know, just hoping to be a friendly fellow small business owner and wish Hot Ceramicist Nerd well, and all...
At least that's the plan before they literally bump in to each other late one weeknight, Eddie getting lost in an elaborate design for a client while Steve has made a mess of the studio as he works on some terrifying flower things with fangs. Eddie would have questions, if it wasn't for the fact that Steve (his name is Steve, right?) is standing in front of him, covered in clay and shirtless underneath his signature overalls...