Creative collaborations: A spotlight on Scottish ceramicists
Featuring a plethora of creative talents
This Easter weekend, we are bringing you a piece that really has collaboration at its heart and spotlights Scottish ceramicists. The idea came to me (as most of my ideas do) while out on a long, blustery walk and it’s slowly come together over the last couple of weeks. Truthfully, it barely touches the surface of the creative talent that’s here in the Scottish community - there could even be a book proposal idea somewhere in this - so this is much more of a snapshot or an introduction if you like, to some of the makers I have come across and whose pieces feature in my home and whose work means something to me, which hopefully will resonate with you too.
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Hand-in-hand: food creatives and ceramicists
At the end of last year my mum came for a long weekend stay and we treated ourselves to a cookery demonstration and lunch at Jess Elliott’s studio in Marchmont, Edinburgh. For those who haven’t come across Jess before, she is the founder of Elliott’s, which she describes as a community that celebrates simple cooking and life in the kitchen. She is also a food writer and previously owned a much-loved cafe which she sold to focus more on her Studio, where she hosts seasonal cookery demonstrations, supper clubs, popups, author events (and more). Seeing her plans for 2024 which include a day of food and flowers with Aesme Studio, a Sardinian lunch with Letitia Ann Clark and a Mallorcan lunch with Kitty Coles made me think about the amount of collaboration within the Scottish food and drink scene - and particularly, partnerships between ceramists and food creatives.
Since moving to Edinburgh seven years ago, I have slowly but surely been building up a collection of functional ceramic pieces. In that time, they have become part of the make-up of my kitchen, the fabric of tea and cake dates with friends and family or time alone by myself. I really love anything hand-made; I especially love the way in which no two hand-made pieces are quite the same - I think there’s something so beautiful about that. They have their own character and imperfectly perfect flaws which feel much more special to me than mass-produced products. I’m always on the look-out for creative collaboration - I’m a firm believer and supporter of businesses that uplift others within the same community space and champion what they are doing. Partnerships and collaborations so often open doors and it’s one of the things I love about the Scottish food and coffee culture. This piece then, explores some of the collaborations I’ve come across that have led me to discover new ceramicists or food businesses.
A look at some of Scotland’s creatives in the field of ceramics
Borja Moronta
For those who have been with us from the beginning, you may recognise Borja’s name as we featured his work in the first issue of our printed journal. I think I first found out about Borja through Heron - an incredible restaurant at The Shore, Leith. Since then, I’ve always quietly admired his work and am now am the proud owner of some of his smaller plates, mugs and most recently his teapot, which was a gift from a friend and has quickly become one of my most treasured kitchen-pieces. There’s an architectural quality to his work - with clear Japanese influences and I love how thinly Borja throws his pieces.
Jono Smart
Jono’s work was featured in Fare Magazine’s Glasgow issue and since then, I’ve followed his beautiful work online. He credits Luciano Giubbilei, an incredible garden design, as the individual who has really informed and inspired his design process. Like Borja, he also loves the work of modern Japanese potters and creates precise, finely thrown forms that have a really timeless finish and look. Jono has undertaken a number of special collaborations over the year, including supplying ceramics to Timberyard in Edinburgh and Inver in Argyll.
Agata Kurzawa
I’ve only very recently come across Agata’s work but she is well-known within the pottery community in Scotland, and particularly in Edinburgh where she is based. She worked on a set of tableware for Commons Club Edinburgh which is a stunning collection and her website has so many stunning pieces in organic colours and textures.
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