Eva Stricker (sometimes spelled Striker) was born into an accomplished Budapest family. Her father was a prosperous textile merchant; her mother, the first woman to earn a doctorate at Budapest University, was the sister of Michael and Karl Polanyi. As a child in her mother's experimental kindergarten, Eva began a lifelong friendship with the novelist Arthur Koestler.

In 1925, she left art school to apprentice to a potter and soon demonstrated the self-confidence that would mark her career. At 22, she became the designer for Schramberger Majolika-Fabrik in Germany despite scant experience, no knowledge of drafting (an architect friend gave her a quick lesson), and a depressed economy. "My job was to keep the company going. Three hundred fifty people's jobs depended on me. Our pots were bought on the basis of design," she later recalled. "It was a time of pressure."

She created 200 designs over the course of two years. They show the influence of contemporary fashions, particularly in architecture. "I was fascinated by some beautiful modern villas, which I visited several times. Soon some of my inkwells started to look like tiny modern villas," she explained.