My Favourite Ceramics

My love of ceramics began as a child, playing gently with a heavy letter holder my Mum had carefully handmade when she was a little girl. It’s a beautiful piece that I still admire whenever I see it, not only because it’s lovely to look at but also because of what it represents – my Mums creative spirit. Also, it’s decorated with cats so of course I’m going to love it!

As a teenager, I began to collect some of my own ceramic pieces (one I particularly remember was a white elephant teapot that I displayed on a bookshelf in my bedroom). Over the years my collection grew, hitting its peak when I started creating my own ceramics.

Late last year I decided to edit my collection to only pieces I truly loved, as having so many items made my small space feel cluttered and overwhelmed. It was hard work but the effect is that my favourite pieces are now properly showcased and appreciated. Strangely enough, I find I notice them more too!

My collection is a mish mash of pieces I’ve found, pieces I’ve made and pieces I’ve been gifted.

This blue teapot and matching cup from Oliver Bonas was a gift from my husband – he knows how much I love Oliver Bonas! They always have a gorgeous selection of ceramic pieces. This one is brilliant because they can be kept together. It’s a very clever, beautiful design.

Since we welcomed Angus into our home, I am forever being gifted black cat items like this cute trinket tray my Mum found. I keep it on our mantlepiece to hold matches. The candle holder however is one of the few black cat items I have bought for myself. I found it in TK Maxx with the Halloween items last year and I immediately knew I had to have it. It reminds me so much of my own playful, curious cat.

This piece I found a few years ago at Steptoe’s scrap yard in Montrose (one of my favourite places to find vintage). I immediately fell in love with the unusual doughnut shape and the pretty flower design. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.

One of my favourite things to do when I’m travelling is to look for ceramics. When I visited Denmark with my friend we found these adorable ‘ghosts’ made by Studio Arhoj, a Danish design team. Each ghost is unique and I chose this one with pretty pink speckles. It reminds me of ‘The Moomins’ and I love how weird looking it is! I spotted the white tulip vase on a trip away with my husband and our friends to Amsterdam. There were so many tulip vases in all the tourist shops but I couldn’t find any with a design I liked, and then I spotted this white one. There is so much going on with the unusual shape that I was glad to find one without a pattern!

Of course, a lot of pieces I’ve held onto are my own work. These were all made in the last two years. As I’ve experimented with different techniques, I feel I’m closer to finding my own style. These were all inspired by ancient Greek pottery my husband and I saw in the Archeological Museum of Kos.

This piece, a photo cannot do it justice! My ceramics class sometimes do a raku session (a low firing process). This vessel is one of the pieces that went through that process and the result is the glaze has these gorgeous shades of petrol blue, copper and green. There is very little control with the outcome of the colouring that can be achieved using this process so I love that it worked so beautifully.

I hope you’ve enjoyed having a wee peek at these pieces and hearing the stories behind each!