Objects of Fired Clays

The dictionary definition of pottery is simply “objects of fired clays”. I am really interested in the relationship between pots and their function – and that’s exactly what this blog post is about.  

My ceramics mentor (and hero!), Robert Cooper, recently talked to me about the history of pottery and how firing temperatures in different countries were determined by practical considerations. For example, in African countries, they would fire to lower temperatures because it would keep the clay porous, allowing the water to seep into the clay, thereby keeping the water cold. In Scandinavian countries, however, they fired to higher temperatures as the cold weather meant that the water would freeze and if allowed into the clay, could cause the vessels to break.

Tribal African Vessel

Then there’s the story of the ceramicist who made a coffee cup for her busy journalist and writer friend, who struggled to take breaks when he was working. The ceramicist’s answer was to design a cup, which could not stand up on its own. This forced the writer to get his hands off the keyboard, lean back and enjoy a coffee break. Genius.

Personally, I have recently been commissioned to make coffee cups for a company called the Slow Brew Club. The ethos is all about taking time in your busy day to have a break or as they put it: “Even the best minds need to pause”.

An example of other coffee cups which I have designed 

This has made me think about how the design of a cup can alter the drinking experience of the user. With this in mind, I have been working with them to produce a cup that enhances the feeling of pausing without distracting the user both in respect of the shape, colour and texture of the vessel. We are not quite there yet but watch this space for the finished product.

Bye for now

X SkandiHus

The Power of the Story Cont...

The next ceramic artist whom I want to invite into my “hus” (as you know, that’s “house” in Danish) because their story made an impression on me, is the young talented artist Katie Spragg.

Katie graduated from BA (Hons) Wood, Metal, Ceramics and Plastics at Brighton University in 2010. I met Katie when attending a course in print making techniques at Camden Arts Centre where she was sharing her knowledge – and her stories of the curious and the bizarre.

Inspired by stories in the Metro newspaper, Katie produced a series of plates, which depicted the tales of the bizarre behaviour of urban wildlife.

For example, and one of my favourites, there was the story of the fox, which was found on the 72^nd floor of the UK’s highest skyscraper and apparently was surviving off scraps of food left by construction workers.

Or the drunk Swedish (how typical...) moose stuck up a tree that had to be cut free after snaffling too many apples...

Katie has transferred her drawings onto digital transfers which she then adds to the plates. I personally enjoy the expressive and humorous nature of her drawing style which really goes well with these bizarre urban animal stories.

Katie, SkandiHus salutes you!

The Power of the Story

Over the years, I have met many talented artists. Sometimes it's not just their work that makes an impression on me. At times, their stories stay with me too. I am going to share with you, the tales of some talented ceramicists whose stories made such an impression on me that I felt compelled to do a blog post about them. Besides their work is so beautiful that I had to invite them into my SkandiHus.

First up is Luke Bishop.

The lovely Luke Bishop completed the Ceramics HE Diploma in Ceramics at the City-Lit in July of 2013. His practice is founded in the language of function and the functional: wheel-thrown porcelain vessels and forms. Luke himself describes it as ranging from utilitarian to sculptural, inhabiting the region where Craft and Art collide and bump into each other. Functional forms are combined in abstracted groupings that might intentionally strip away function entirely, or perhaps augment it.

When I met Luke at the New Designers show, he handed me one of his small beautifully crafted vessels that, at first sight, did not seem to have a function. Then he told me his story.

The vessel was inspired by an old Roman tradition of catching tears in vessels. Luke explained how they used to catch tears of sadness and place them by the graves of the deceased. To him though, the tears that we may want to catch today could be happy ones too: "It could be a place to store the tears your shed at your daughter's wedding" he said but then immediately he looked across the table, his facial expression changing to a sad one.

He pointed to a large ceramic vessel, saying that “perhaps that one should be dedicated to the people of Syria and the tears the world is shedding for them”. Neither of us said anything for a little while after this. I quietly put Luke's beautiful ceramic object back on the table, thinking that if I ever got married, I would buy one for my mum to eternalise her tears of happiness in.

I left feeling. And that ability to make someone "feel" is to me the ultimately sign of an artist having succeeded.

Luke, SkandiHus salutes you and your story.

FOR THE LOVE OF BIRCH

In Scandinavia, Birch is a highly treasured tree. To the ancient Scandinavians, birch was primarily a symbol of transition from spring to summer and, more broadly, the symbol of death and resurrection. It was also the symbol of the goddess Nerthus, who was considered the great Mother Earth.

Scandinavia’s ongoing love for birch is still prevalent in the designs originating from these northern shores of Europe in more recent times. In this blog post, I have gathered a few of my favourite Scandinavian birch inspired pottery pieces. Enjoy!

Handmade Koivu vase made by Finnish ceramicist Maarit Mattanen. The Koivu vase was originally designed for an art exhibition in the National Parks of Lapland in Finland. “Koivu” means birch in Finnish.

The talented, Swedish potter, Maria Holmberg, found her way of incorporating a birch pattern on her pottery with a special ceramic printing technique.

Simple and beautiful.

 

I love these handmade birch bark tumblers by FarmhouseMud.

And finally, I adore this lush vase, also from FarmhouseMud, made from super thin layers of white stoneware mixed with paper pulp and then peeled back just like a real birch tree.

Birch for now from SkandiHus. Hej hej!

Delicious Danish Design Duo

Get ready for a Danish Double treat!

I absolutely adore the work of the Danish design duo, Tools, consisting of the perfect double act, Claus Jensen and Henrik Holbæk. It seems that no matter what the pair put theirs hands on, they transform it into a beautiful success. One only has to look to their Eva Solo series for proof of this.

With the launch of their latest design brand, Normade, the two designers are successfully making the most of the Scandinavian design wave that is slowly and steadily spreading across the world at the moment.

According to Claus and Henrik, the philosophy behind Normade was to create designs that are appealing in their own right whilst being functional - but without any unnecessary detail. The objects are made in sizes that allow them to be easily moved around. This way the user always has them where they are needed and they can be used and enjoyed easily. Moreover it is important that the objects are functional. In other words, these guys are yet another example of designers who are managing to design unpretentious affordable designs without compromising on the quality. Love it!

In addition, the two say that it is important to them that every design feature has a purpose. For example, they do not put a handle on a chair primarily because it looks good; rather it is there because it is functional.

This way of creating furniture, is a return to a time when objects were designed to last and with a purpose in mind. Sadly so many functional objects today are designed to only last for a limit period. Thus, the Normade products are not only beautiful but also sustainable designs which do not try to be anything other than what they are. Beautiful functional objects!

Well done, boys! SkandiHus salutes you.

Coffee Lovers Unite

True to my love of the use of natural materials in art and design, I recently fell in love with Kählers new coffee brewer, Barista.

The design is so fresh and Scandinavian. Allegedly it makes unparalleled great tasting coffee as well but as I haven't tasted it yet, I can't vouch for this. I hope it is true though as I can all too easily imagine myself sitting in the morning sunshine drinking great coffee out of something this aesthetically pleasing.

The cups are made of porcelain and you can buy a set of 4 together with a lush natural wooden stand. However, to be honest, I might just buy one cup so that I can selfishly enjoy it on my own. The only problem with that would, of course, be the fact that the Barista comes in three (wonderfully nordic) shades and I am not sure that I'd be able to choose just one...

The designer behind the little coffee beauty is Michael Geertsen who graduated from the Danish Design School in 1993. His inspirational designs and high artistic quality has made his art known throughout the world.

He states that he finds inspiration in the meeting between function and sculpture – and his work draws a clear line back to classic ceramics, but shapes and colours are used in such a way that tries to challenge the observer. I would say that he succeeds in this. Just look at this great red sculpture as an example:

Michael recently exhibited some of his works at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London with his installation: A DIALOGUE WITH HISTORY.

Michael described it as “an explosion of mixed works, which take on some of the highlights of our civilisation”.  He further explained that he took inspiration from Greek vases which is really apt as the Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the largest collections of ceramics in the world. The ceramic collection spans almost the entire development of our civilisation.

Michael Geertsen says that he hopes that when people see his designs they will go: “Wow, I really like the idea behind that – and it is beautiful as well – I must have it”. Well, Michael, you certainly succeeded in making me feel like that. I am pretty sure that I MUST add your lovely little coffee brewer to my growing collection of kitchen ceramics.

Thank you!

The Beautiful World of Anne Black

A few years back, I celebrated my birthday in a Danish summer-house by the sea with my closest friends and family. It was one of the best weekends of my life. Some of my friends gave me a beautiful sushi set and a pair of earrings from the Danish ceramic and jewellery designer, Anne Black. I instantly fell in love with her designs and her style has inspired me ever since.

Anne Black is an interesting person and the more I have learnt about her, the more I am drawn to her designs.

If nothing else, go on to her website to be mesmerised by the absolutely beautiful video and music that greets you as you enter.

Visiting her website is akin to visiting any shop selling her products. Looking at her designs gives you a sense of the ambience and sensibility of her universe.

The sushi set that I was given, is from her collection "Black is Blue" which has been hand painted on the inside. This, Anne says, is to show that beauty comes from the inside. Adorable.

Whilst I am generally not a fan of outsourcing the arts/crafts, I think that if you are going to do it, you should do it the way Anne has done. She is co-owner of a small ceramics factory located outside of Hanoi, Vietnam in a joint venture with a Vietnamese partner, Mrs Hang. This was established with the ongoing support, supervision and guidance of the official agency DANIDA, the Danish Institute of Development.

The working environment has been developed with assistance from international experts and is comparable to Danish standards. Therefore, the production is monitored and continuously developed in relation to the working environment, health, social rights, external environmental load and technical competencies. What's more, the company's approach is decidedly personal, fair trade and earth-friendly. Nice work, Anne!

You can find Anne Black products in selected shops throughout the world but unfortunately it does not seem like she has a UK retailer.

But fret not, you can buy her products online right here.

Alternatively, treat yourself to a weekend in Copenhagen and visit her recently opened concept store, Black, on Gl. Kongevej 103 DK-1850 Frederiksberg, Copenhagen.

Love love and kys kys from SkandiHus

Lollys Laundry

My wonderful fiancé recently gave me this beautiful scarf from one of my favourite shops: Lollys Laundry, which inspired me to do a blog post about this amazing Danish brand. I love the simple, yet strong look that the designer, Kamilla Byriel, created back in 2007 when she launched Lollys Laundry. You will probably quickly note from my various blogs that I am a big fan of affordable goods which are nevertheless well designed and of good quality. This brand is no exception.

Kamilla's philosophy was to create a brand where quality and price are woven together, resulting in strong collections that let you style your look up or down, depending on whether you are into classic romanticism or the tough rock chick look. Since I own quite a few of her pieces, I can vouch for this and the quality too.

From the Spring/Summer 2014 collection, I am particularly fond of this fun bird print t-shirt. It's both stylish and cool. I would wear it with black skinny jeans, black Nike trainers and a black leather jacket. A very Danish look, yes, indeed.

Raw Materials - Wood and Leather

I have always loved the use by Scandinavian artists and designers of natural materials such as leather, wood, stone, metal and clay. I can't think of anything more aesthetically pleasing than the mix of raw materials and sharp light airy designs. The Spanish Chair 

One of my favourite pieces is the Spanish Chair designed by the Danish furniture architect Børge Mogensen as seen in the photo to the left (borrowed from Manks).

This chair is especially close to my heart as we had one in our summer house in the North of Denmark when I grew up. I have spent many hours of my childhood sliding around on the leather seat whilst watching one of the three TV channels available or perched on the arm rest next to an older sibling who had claimed the chair for the evening (and this was probably more often the case as I am the youngest of four).

Legend has it that upon returning home from a holiday in Spain in 1958,  the furniture designer Børge Mogensen created the Spanish Chair. He had fallen in love with an old chair in Andalusia with a leather seat and wide arm rests.

The use of leather and solid oak gives the chair a strong masculine character and the natural materials cause the chair to become increasingly beautiful as time passes. The buckles can be tightened as the leather naturally stretches over time. This way you can sit comfortable in the chair today, tomorrow and for generations to come. Clever.

I admire Børge Mogensen for more than just his beautiful designs. His philosophy was that beautiful objects for the home should be affordable to the people of Denmark. During the 40s, 50s and 60s, he created some of the most well known furniture classics in Scandinavia.  He would probably be quite sad to know that 40 years after his death, his pieces are not exactly "affordable" to the ordinary person. Still, they are so beautiful that I would almost dare to say that they are priceless. Almost.