My work is a mix of playful forms often inspired by the 1960s, combined with joyful and vibrant colours. I try to approach my design process in a spontaneous and playful way. A lot of my way of working is connected to my previous career as a fashion designer and the inf luence of my ceramicist father.
During my childhood I was introduced to the art of making ceramics in my father’s pottery studio. Through him I discovered the beauty in handcrafted objects and design. I went on to work as a stylist and chief designer for a fashion brand in Paris. During the first Covid-19 lockdown of 2020, I had the opportunity to return to my childhood home and rediscover my father’s workspace. Through experimenting with clay, I saw the potential of ceramics, I found new means of expression and felt that I could transcribe the creative process from designing a clothing range into creating a ceramics collection.
Growing up with a ceramicist father has obviously influenced me quite a lot. Even though our designs and way of working are very different, he inf luences me in the way that I approach my work. At the moment I am living between Paris and the South of France, but more and more I have realised that my taste in colours,
shapes and life in general is highly inf luenced by the ambiance and light in the south.
Before starting to draw new shapes, I like to work on a rough collage of all the things that have caught my eye. Paintings, photographs, furniture, etc. Once put together, this mood board then becomes the inspiration for my designs. I made my first collection of ceramic pieces two years ago. Those designs all came from a mood board full of 1960s designs, pop art and photographs. Looking back at the final designs now, I can see how it is a mix of all the things that I was fascinated by around that time.
For my next collection I have revisited some of my old fashion drawings. This collection will be coming out in the next few months and I think people will see the references to the iconic shapes and details of clothing. Once I am happy with the mood board, I start to draw and sketch ideas with pen and paper. During this process I try not to think too much about the production elements as I don’t want that to inf luence the way I visualise shapes. Before starting to work on the actual prototypes, I look for a correlation in the drawings I have made, which pieces could work together as a collection, and the shapes that will work best in a particular colour.
66 September/October 2022
