Memories of porcelain

I have fond memories of my grandparents' Victorian china tea sets and catching up with my Mum after school over a cuppa - in the UK, we say that 'a cup of tea solves everything'. Rather than using bone china, I throw them on the wheel in stoneware, a heavier and more durable substance for modern daily use. I make them larger, ready for the needs of our wfh lifestyles, but hope to keep the elegance and some sense of occasion in the beautiful form.

I like to contrast these strict, clean forms with experimental glazes and some subtle remnants of the making process, like fingerprints, variations in colour from dips and splashes, or firing in atmospheric kilns like wood and soda for dramatic directional colour changes.

Magic in the chemistry

I’ve been studying glaze chemistry since 2015, now having hundreds of test tiles to get the effect I want! It all started with tricky a floating blue glaze that I couldn’t get to consistently work, and since then I’ve loved to learn more about the chemistry magic behind the colour and visual effects in glazes. I’ve recently started incorporating local clay and chalk into my recipes, making it more sustainable, embracing a certain element of natural variation from the digging.

I throw on the wheel in black and white stoneware clays, changing the clay bodies to get my desired glaze tones and textures in the final piece. Rather than perfect sets, I prefer my work to sit together as a family - I want someone to have 'their' own mug, uniquely different in some way. It's important to me that my mugs are perfectly designed for their use, so I carefully sculpt handles with traditional thumb rests and lugs for a secure hold to a range of sizes for different hands.

Brighton’s Victorian past

Much of my design inspiration comes from Brighton as a city. Mostly built in the Georgian and Victorian times, houses here have quality craftsmanship with unique, decorative details. These illustrative details are often both useful and beautiful - and well-made, still appreciated hundreds of years later. Brighton's seafront is also an inspiration to me - it's amazing how many colours the sea and sky can display at different times of year.