Katwijk aan Zee, the Netherlands
My studio sits in Katwijk aan Zee, just minutes from the beach. The light, the waves and the shells along the tideline find their way into my work all by themselves. This is where every bowl and vase is made by hand — step by step, from a lump of clay to a piece that exists nowhere else.
The process
It all starts with a block of clay and two hands. I shape every bowl and vase without a mould — pressing, smoothing, feeling until the form is right. That is why each piece has its own character: an edge that curves just a little differently, a bend that exists nowhere else.
Clay needs patience. Each piece dries slowly, sometimes for weeks, covered and at its own pace. Drying too fast means cracks — so I wait, turn, check. In this quiet phase the clay itself decides when it is ready for the kiln.
The bisque firing: over 950 degrees, all night long. Soft clay transforms into hard, porous ceramic. Opening the kiln is exciting every single time — only then do you see whether a piece survived the heat. Whatever comes out whole is ready for colour.
Then comes the magic: glaze. Layer by layer I apply colour, inspired by the sea just outside the door. In the second firing, around 1200 degrees, the glaze melts into glass. You never quite know how it will turn out — and that is exactly what makes each piece unrepeatable.
No moulds, no mass production. Every bowl and vase is made once and never exactly the same way again. Small traces of the making — a fingerprint in the clay, a glaze that flowed just a little differently — are part of it. They are the proof that your piece passed through human hands.
1
Edition per design — once sold, truly gone
2
Firings give each piece its own colour and shine
100%
Made by hand in Katwijk aan Zee
Browse the collection — or have something made that is entirely yours.
