A Stoneware Dinner Set for Spring | Handmade Pottery

Making pots is a labour of love, we know this by now. Even if it does appear on the surface to be a highly creative craft, the act of making pottery is restricted by fundamental material laws, affected by the subtlest of temperature changes, and the results - even if every step is followed in parallel to previous efforts - as variable as the weather. This is something to be celebrated, because this is the entire point. Pots will have natural variation placed upon them not enacted by myself, the maker, but by the intrinsic character put into them by the smallest variations in kiln temperature, placement within the kiln, and gravity of glaze.

So, to the making: it's taken around six weeks of throwing, sanding, waxing, firing, glazing, and firing again from start to finish for her dinner set. Around four kiln firings in total, not including the bisque - mad how much space those big dinner plates take up. But I'm really happy with the results. I'm happy they feel cohesive but aren't too matchy matchy. I'm happy she chose colours and finishes that feel timeless but also unique to her. I'm happy with the dimensions of the pots and the way they feel together as a set - something that you can't really predict until they're all together in one space sitting as a group.

When Rachel originally came to talk about her dinner set, she thoughtfully brought some placemats from her kitchen so we could check the colours of the glazes against her interior choices. A strong leaning towards my burnt umber glaze and a love of heavily speckled clay influenced her final choices - as well as custom sizing of the heavy speckled Emmeline mugs informed by her husband’s love of a big cup of coffee. 

Because that’s the thing, right, about commissioning a handmade pottery dinner set. It’s the complete opposite experience of buying something straight off the shelf. With each piece being made-to-order, I can work from dimensions of your shelves, the size of your dishwasher, make shapes which are going to feel completely perfect for your home and the way you like to eat. Not just the way you like to eat, though: the pots can slot into the way you like to live.

The natural variation in Rachel’s dinner set is a beautiful thing to witness - and I’m not blowing my own trumpet here: the variation has nothing to do with the way I made it. It’s just that handmade pottery has life and irreplaceable energy in it that can’t be mimicked by an industrially-produced, predictable process. This variation in the pots - this life - I hope will align itself with the beauty and variation of Rachel’s own life. It’ll be there sitting quietly in the cupboard, witness to it all.

I hope Rachel enjoys using these pots as much as I've enjoyed making them. Bye for now, pots, be good!

If you're interested in commissioning a dinner set (upwards of 20 pieces will qualify for special prices), please email me at studioflorenceceramics@gmail.com and I can send you my dinner set workbook with shapes and glaze options for you to choose from).