The Creative Process
All the ideas are first sketched as we are inspired by nature and surrounding landscapes.
Every single piece is hand built from scratch in a small home workshop. The mug is shaped from a raw clay lump, using slab technique.
Rolled out clay is cut to specific dimensions, a cylinder is made and it is shaped to a desired form by using wooden spatula and rubber rib.
Depending on the collection, the design is drawn on a firm clay surface, carved with a pottery tool or the mug is decorated with hand sculpted animal and plants.
After it is fired for the first time, glazes are applied onto the mug to match the colours and style of the particular design. We use a variety of brushes, palettes and small needle tip bottles to apply a few layers of each colour.
Opening the kiln after glaze firing is like unboxing the long anticipated present, hardly any emotions can be compared to that! The turnout of the texture and colour of the glazes depends on many factors: the number of layers, clay type, temperature, cooling process, so you never know for sure what the final result is going to surprise you with.
It takes about 5 hours of work to finish one mug and around 2-6 weeks for one mug to be created, including all the steps, drying process, painting the design, two firings and cooling down in between. The process means every single mug is slightly different. The piece may have some small irregularities proving it is handmade work and giving it its own character.