ON THE PERCH | INTERVIEW

I’ve always loved designing and making things since I was a child and being very dyslexic I quickly realised that this was where my strengths lay and definitely where I feel most confident. I was always painting, sewing, and making things, but for some reason the idea of studying anything artistic at university seemed very scary and would never lead to a ‘proper’ job. After five years of working as a primary school teacher, I handed in my notice to go travelling around Central America for a year, but then two weeks later COVID struck and we went into lockdown, needless to say we didn’t make it to Mexico that year...

But, there was most definitely a plus-side, as it allowed me to see that although I loved some parts of teaching, it had also made me incredibly stressed and anxious. And so I decided, that as I had always made ceramics in my spare time, I could now try doing what I loved and focus full-time on my creative side.

To my delight, and quite honestly amazement, for the last year and half I have been working full-time for myself and developing my practice with such an amazing community of followers. All self-taught and learning as I go, it’s been such a liberating process and I'm so grateful and thankful for where I am now. There have been two really defining influences for my work, firstly working as an assistant stylist on interior shoots, working alongside some incredibly talented interior stylists and creative directors, watching them curate the most incredible spaces filled with beautiful pieces which blurred the lines between pieces of art and functional items for the home.

To my delight, and quite honestly amazement, for the last year and half I have been working full-time for myself and developing my practice with such an amazing community of followers. All self-taught and learning as I go, it’s been such a liberating process and I'm so grateful and thankful for where I am now. There have been two really defining influences for my work, firstly working as an assistant stylist on interior shoots, working alongside some incredibly talented interior stylists and creative directors, watching them curate the most incredible spaces filled with beautiful pieces which blurred the lines between pieces of art and functional items for the home.

There have been so many inspirations to my work over the past two years, but two which really stick out were firstly working with the most incredible pieces of artwork from MAH Gallery whilst assisting interior stylists; helping to curate living spaces full of texture, shape, colour and pattern. This cemented my belief in the beauty and importance of hand crafted pieces, which can be both a work of art and a usable item that brings joy to people.

The second key influence, Charleston House. Home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, Charleston was where the 20th century’s most radical artists, writers and thinkers, the Bloomsbury group, met. The house itself is truly the most inspiring of places, covered with beautiful yet often whimsical, carefree hand painted patterns on mantel pieces, walls, doors, and ceilings, it reminds me of the importance of fun when making art, while also being such an important place historically for our culture.

Firstly, The Roost had been recommended by several fellow makers who were already working with The Roost. They said The Roost were really lovely to work with and really seemed to care about the brands they partner with. So this was a real draw as a maker myself! Secondly, your brilliant and unique idea of providing an online interior design service, simply brilliant!

I've got a small capsule of tableware that I think would look really amazing with my pieces. Starting with a neutral base like the Acacia Tablecloth from Kalinko, layered with beautiful but understated glassware from Woven Rosa, and mixing my servingware with the cool scalloped edged Side Plates from Late Afternoon. No table is complete without a candle or two either!

I've had my eye on Hastshilp's gorgeous, gorgeous Anar scalloped wall light. It would look so fabulous in my hallway or bathroom.

HASTSHILP
ANAR WALL LIGHT | NATURAL

Having been a teacher where your days and even holidays are so regimented down to the minute, I now absolutely love that my time is my own. Depending on my schedule, sometimes I start work very early to start rolling out slabs upon slabs of clay, whereas other mornings I make myself a tea and sit in bed until 9am doing admin! Depending on when I need to fire my pieces, my days are normally either a “making” day, or an order packing and admin day (although sometimes both!). Woman's Hour is a daily must, along with many earl grey teas along the way.