From making our own clay to the finished product, each piece is handmade and decorated by a small team of craftspeople in Lochinver and Ullapool, Scotland. It takes time to create our products. Each item is hand painted. The artists are encouraged to innovate and develop designs, so no two pieces are the same. Individual pieces are signed by the artist. As each piece is different and will vary from the photographs.
The Pots
All the work is hand thrown and turned stoneware. No machines or moulds are used and the traditional techniques have taken many years to perfect. The pottery does not try to mimic the past but draws on skills rarely practiced today.
Combined with high temperature stoneware glazes, fine brushwork, wax resist and glaze trailing, the finished pots with rich copper red and cobalt blue glazes are both functional and decorative whilst still having a contemporary look. On the Specials range, gold lustre is hand decorated on to the stoneware pot and then fired again, adding a luxurious opulence not normally found on studio pottery.
The glazes and pigments are made up from raw materials in the pottery and are fired in a gas kiln to over 1300° Celsius. This fuses both clay and glaze together in an impenetrable bond, giving the pottery both its brightness and its depth of colour. Although decorative, the pots have been designed to be used and are oven and dishwasher safe.
I specialise in wheel-thrown porcelain.
I attended Art College as a student but I never quite found my place in the usual artistic range. Something always seemed to be missing. I eventually chose a different path, closer to nature. I discovered my passion for clay by pure chance, and I have now come full circle, to a material as ancient as the Earth, and to a place that feels like home, behind a potter’s wheel.
I’m incredibly passionate about ceramic – I pour my heart and soul into it. For me it’s both a meditative process and a constant challenge.
I would define my work as minimalist. I favour shapes that are simple yet sophisticated, with clean lines and a quiet but powerful presence that works in any decor.
Abi fell in love with the whole felting process immediately – getting soapy with wet felting or the precision detailing of needle felting. Fairly soon our house became full of felted objects as I experimented with my new found skill.
I’ve always loved creating unique presents for my children and family. One of the gifts I have made for my girls, was a pair of felt fairies which they loved. Whenever they were invited to a party, they would always ask me to make more of these as presents for their friends.
The reaction from both the children and their parents was so positive that I was encouraged to start making them to sell, and the idea for red cat was born!
