Studio Journal: May 26
"The earth laughs in flowers." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Autumnus Bowl, photograph by India Hobson (currently out of stock but more coming late Summer)
The focus in the studio this month has been threefold.
Firstly, the making has been focussed towards filling the large gas kiln at the Yorkshire Artspace, which we will be firing next month. We’ve been working on firm favourites such as our Autumnus Bowls (pictured above), mugs, vases, large bowls. We still have a way to go in terms of making and glazing, with items on the list such as one-off teapots, oil burners and beakers. Because we fire the gas kiln only once or twice a year, we must plan carefully pieces to launch seasonally but also it is so important for us to play and experiment with new ideas so that each time we fire we also improve and further our knowledge. It is for this reason that our gas firings end up full of wonderfully unique and exciting pieces. However since we’ve moved studios and the trip to the gas kiln is a little further in mileage I have to say we’ve also been applying this methodology to our electric firings. I made a rule to add an experiment each time we’ve fired the kiln. We’ve made some exciting little discoveries, some of which will eventually make their way to our online shop. But, good things take time.
We’ve been experimenting with creating texture and pattern using slip (clay and water). Pictured above are a series of test tiles with coloured slip applied with a hakeme brush and patterns with inlaid porcelain slip. Film clip below shows us figuring out a new technique to inlay a band of porcelain slip on a bowl form. We’re so excited to see how our tests turn out and where this experimentation will take us. Inlaying porcelain is really fun!
Aside from the making of our new collection, we’ve been busy working on wholesale orders four our friends at Katto and Niki Jones Interiors.
For Niki Jones we are making a super small batch of teapots, pictured below. It’s such a joy to make teapots again after a short break. Our last batch last year went horribly wrong in the glaze firing so I do have butterflies about this batch. Fingers are firmly crossed. Last time the glaze was applied too thickly (the form is larger than our usual so it ends up being submerged in the glaze bucket for longer, which means the glaze is thicker), so it ran onto the kiln shelves. This is a mistake I should not have made as I do know better, but I suppose we are all human and all make mistakes. This is a very small batch and each one already has a home but we do plan on making another small batch of teapots over the summer, alongside some one off teapots for the new collection.
Thirdly, so much of our time this month seems to have been making content for social media (I have just finished watching Amandaland so this makes me laugh a little). But in all seriousness it is so important for our business and I do really enjoy it when there is time. I just need to remember that in some businesses this is one or two people’s actual full time job and to be a little easier on myself when there aren’t enough hours in the day.
We don’t seem to have been doing too much outside of our studio work this month (the usual things I won’t bore you with), but I did get time to go to Uppergate Sauna. If you are local to Holmfirth (or not) I can one hundred percent recommend a sauna in the woods. The sauna was built from timber on site and it is beautifully put together, it was such a treat.
Our newest mug design is a classic, versatile shape suitable for tea and coffee. It holds 325ml and is thrown in our flecked stoneware and available in our seven standard glazes.
9.2cm h x 9cm ø // 325ml
Elevated candle holder, thrown in a flecked stoneware and available in the following glazes: ochre, nori, charcoal, sand, powder, olive and speckled white.
4.5cm h x 10cm ø
We’re very excited to announce our book, ‘Designing and Making Tableware at The Wheel’, published by Crowood Press.
Practical and accessible, personal and technical, this inspiring book is invaluable for all makers, whatever their experience, who want to create wheel-thrown tableware. It is written by Catherine and Matt West who share the knowledge and passion so evident in their own work, and explores the overlapping notions of craft, design and small-batch production. Richly illustrated with over 300 photos and with detailed step-by-step sequences, it celebrates the slow-nature of making by hand and explains how to make consistent pieces that add joy and meaning to the table.