Studio Update: Stoneware Lampholders in Progress

It has been a little while since anything was last written here. Behind the scenes, though, work has been continuing, including the early development of new stoneware lampholders.

These pieces are still very much in progress, but this feels like a good moment to share a small glimpse of how a new product can begin. Not as a fully resolved design, but as a set of tests, questions and small decisions that start to point in the right direction.

The two lampholders shown here have been thrown on the wheel in stoneware and are designed to sit over the lamp holder, leaving the decorative bulb itself visible. They have been paired with warm-toned bulbs, which give the pieces a lovely, golden glow and helps test how the scale, shape and glaze behave once the object is lit.

The first glaze is Nuka, a soft white with a delicate pale blue tinge. The second is a glaze called Blue Tit, with a mottled brown base and pale blue-green flecks. With thanks to Matthew Blakely, who made both glazes. They are quite different in character, but they sit well together.

At this stage, nothing is fixed. There will likely be several versions before the design is settled. Some may have slightly different dimensions, a change in curve or proportion. Surface pattern or further glaze variations may also be explored, although the aim is not to make the range too wide. The intention is to arrive at a tight, considered collection.

This is often how new work develops: not in one clean line from idea to finished product, but through a series of small adjustments. A piece is made, fired, assembled, lived with for a while, then reconsidered. Some versions move forward. Others teach you what not to do.

More will be shared as these lampholders develop, including further tests, changes in shape and any decisions about the final collection.

To follow the development of new work, you can sign up to our mailing list to receive occasional notes from the studio, including work in progress, new designs and first news of future collections.