I’m a designer-maker working within the field of ceramics. My work has always been heavily driven by making, and I make all my decisions through material experimentation and getting my hands dirty. To me the skill of making is crucial to being able to design and I really think that the two things go hand in hand.
All aspects of my work address sustainability, a critical element of all my designs. My two main processes are wheel thrown and slip cast ceramics. Ranging from tableware to glaze experiments to terracotta fridges. Due to my training in product design I have a different, more design based approach to ceramics using the traditional techniques and materials to provide solutions to modern day problems.
Sustainable design can also be beautiful design and my main drive is to bring sustainable materials and practices into the home.
After my foundation I went straight to Kingston School of Art after my tutor at CSM, Kathleen, recommended the course to me. I studied BA Product and Furniture Design there and absolutely loved it. When I started there I wanted to go into furniture making, however I had always had an interest in ceramics and went to Denmark for my ERASMUS year to study. That year was really quite life changing for me, I was studying on the beautiful island of Bornholm at KADK on their glass and ceramics course, and for the first time I really felt as though I clicked with the material and knew that it was exactly what I wanted to continue exploring and working with.
Since then I have come back and finished my degree at Kingston in the last year. Although it was tough finishing university during a pandemic, I really enjoyed this last year of studying and felt that I found my focus in sustainable ceramics. I also won the John Lewis award at New Designers and the Global Design Graduate Show: Product Design Category for my Terracooler Design so it has been a good year. I now work as a studio assistant to a couple of potters in London, and I’m aiming to set up my own practice in the near future.
The Terracooler is an alternative take on the fridge, using traditional materials to resolve modern day energy consumption and food waste. Not only does the fridge use up 10% of our household energy, but the UK alone is producing 14 million tonnes of food waste every year. We use the fridge as a way of delaying the problem, shoving food in there only to forget about it later on.
I designed this product after researching zeer pots, an ancient method of cooling that dates back for centuries. Simply by using the natural properties of terracotta, all you have to do to keep your food cool is water it. The piece consists of three double walled slip cast vessels that keep your vegetables, fruit and dairy cool. The hollow handles allow the user to pick each unit up, whilst providing a spout for the water to be poured through. The porosity of the terracotta absorbs the water, cooling the food as it evaporates. Terracooler not only reduces energy consumption for food that should not be stored in a fridge, but makes the user more aware of food storage and less likely to let good produce go to waste.
Before my foundation I, like most people, had only ever experienced design briefs in school, and I felt like I had followed briefs rather than explored them. Going to CSM to study on the foundation course really made me relax into the design process more and test myself to be a bit more conceptual in my practice. I studied on the Product Design and Ceramics pathway, and so had it not have been for that introduction into ceramics I might not have gone into ceramics as a career, who knows.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do a foundation course before applying, but I am so, so glad I did. I was worried that my style of work wouldn’t be right for the course, but my advice to you is to trust in your work and it will work out.
Not only is it important to try out different areas of design, but you get to meet likeminded people and enjoy the process of experimentation. Really make the most out of the freedom you get on the course and the limitless directions you could choose to go in. It is such an exciting time and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.