Custom Crockery: Mervyn Gers

WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring

Acclaimed potter Mervyn Gers was recently commissioned to create a crockery range for Blacksmith’s Kitchen, a restaurant on the wine farm Pearl Mountain.

The initial idea was to focus on indigenous vegetation and wildlife, but Mervyn was also inspired by the history of this fifth-generation Paarl farm. “I felt I should use elements that both Pearl Mountain and Blacksmith’s Kitchen deserved, something more historical,” he says.

Mervyn looked at old deeds, stamps, wax seals and architectural features of the restaurant building, which used to be a smithy, and picked elements that he could combine with illustrations of hoopoes, owls, guineafowl and herons to create a range in which each item is unique.

The complete range, consisting of mugs, jugs, plates, teapots, platters, espresso cups and saucers, is for sale at Pearl Mountain.