pots Archives | Visi

Indigenus: Pebble Collection

Michaela Stehr — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES Courtesy of indigenus

Local planter brand Indigenus has launched its new Pebble range by Yabu Pushelberg at the Maison & Objet show in Paris.

Founded by Peter van der Post in 2014, the brand is well known for its bespoke planters and global collaborations with renowned designers. With a passion for making planters that last more than just a season, the study well-designed pieces are created with longevity in mind, while being aesthetically pleasing in the home, restaurant or office space.

“Each range of planters is unique and illustrates the impact that beautiful sculptural planters have on architecture and landscapes,” the website explains. “The planters close connection to the earth is expressed through a stable and grounded design, made with beautiful natural materials and evoking an underlying story of our relationship with the natural world.”

The new Pebble Collection by American-based design studio Yabu Pushelberg embodies all the key elements of the Indigenus brand. Characterised by a soft organic form, the range is suitable for any style and environment. The Pebble follows an asymmetrical design, playing on negative space. “Inspired by nature, the partnership between Yabu Pushelberg and Indigenus sought to honour this muse by celebrating the amorphous forms found in nature, translating the soft forms into a family of concrete planters,” they elaborate. Although large, the pebble can either add a statement element or blend subtly with the surroundings – complimenting natural landscapes. Designed to stand together or independently, the Pebble planters have been crafted to support larger plants and trees.

Q&A With Mudlife Pottery

Michaela Stehr — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr

Local potter and creative Bianca Bernstein talks to VISI about working with a wheel, her journey with clay, tips and tricks for beginner potters and life in her studio.

Tell us a bit about your background?

Born in the ’80s. Grew up in the ’90s (and still recovering from that). I’m a mostly self-taught potter, working primarily on the wheel to make small-batch and one-off craft pots, as well as large production orders for restaurants from time to time.

I live and make pots in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, with my long-suffering pottery husband, our Great Dane, and 3 cats. When I’m not making pots, I’m reading or trying to figure out ways to include pasta in every meal. My favourite colour is brown.

How did you get involved in pottery?

I’d been working as an advertising copywriter for about 14 years, and I was tired of trying to create things with small budgets, unreasonable deadlines, and tons of brand baggage attached. I needed to go somewhere where I could make mistakes freely and with no consequence, and perhaps see those mistakes develop into something rewarding. An amazing illustrator I know was posting these great little clay creatures that she’d been making at a local studio, so I asked her for the studio’s details. I got in touch with the studio and went to my first lesson. I sat with a lump of clay, trying to pinch a pot, thinking “This really isn’t doing it for me”, until some moments later, I spied a pottery wheel in the far corner. Not a single person was sitting there, and that’s where I wanted to go. I bundled some balls of clay together and started learning how to centre them. The first pots I threw looked like blobs, and I later glazed them accordingly in a fabulous 1970’s brown (origin unknown). I cried a bit in the car on the way home from that first class. I knew that something had changed for me. Cut to a month later – I’d stashed a second-hand wheel in my poorly-lit basement and was obsessively throwing pots every night and every weekend. Cut to 2021 – I’m having a gas kiln installed to start a reduction-firing journey and all of my nice clothes have been ruined (blessed) by clay.

What are your favourite things about working with clay?

Other than the fact that clay just feels like home to me, it also has a way of teaching me to live with uncertainty and acceptance. So much can go wrong before a pot is out of the kiln and in use, that I always feel a low-key acceptance that it might not make it. And plenty of the pots don’t. You learn to accept failures in clay with more ease than you would other things in life and start seeing these failures as lessons and opportunities.

What does a day in the studio look like for you?

I have a terrible habit of visiting the studio as soon as I wake up (quite early), and so I end up doing things in my pajamas before I snap out of it and go get properly dressed for the tasks ahead. I’ll start the day by ‘visiting’ the pots that are in their various stages of making, and see which pot needs what from me that day. Some will need to be turned (trimmed), and others moved along to a different part of the studio for drying etc. I then consult my work list, which tells me whether or not I have commissions to throw that day, or whether I can focus on making pots that I choose to make. On a very lucky day, I’ll get to do a few wild experiments. I’ll take breaks and walk around in the garden during the day, thinking about my pots and how I’m tackling them. If it’s raining I’ll take tea breaks on the stoep for morale. What’s important to note is that not all days look the same. In fact, very few do. This is because working on the wheel is just a small part of the efforts that go into making pots. There’s so much peripheral work, like recycling clay, putting up extra shelves, or sanding down kiln props, or creating new glazes, or caring for students’ work so that it’s ready for their next lesson. I’ve been working on having more disciplined ‘making cycles’, where my output is wheel-focused, and then allotting other times for supporting tasks and prepping for students and studio upkeep etc.

Where do you look for inspiration?

This is an ever-changing search and can be very rewarding.

I tend to look to a few things for inspiration.

1. The materials in my studio: what have I got on hand and what can I do with it? What am I lacking and what can I replace it with?

2. Materials in general: I read up a lot about the different materials used in making clay bodies and glazes and how they behave in heat environments. This technical reading can absolutely inform ideas or directions, and it’s very exciting when it happens.

3. Practical influences: there are potters out there who do certain things very well – and that drives me to improve my level of craft. For example, when I see a brilliant potter’s hands deftly pulling and attaching a handle with a certain level of confidence, it reminds me that I have a long way to go to get there, and it actually really gets me going. Some potters that influence my practical decisions are Lisa Hammond, the late Michael Cardew, and South African potter Richard Pullen.

4. Philosophical influences: This is a much more emotional space for me because being a potter is not a career choice – it’s a life choice. When you choose to give your life over to making pots, you have to go all-in if you hope to make anything of significance. For a greater understanding of what this means (because this understanding is ever-growing), I look to the late Karen Karnes, the late Shoji Hamada, and American potter Adam Field. Their personal philosophies of what life in pots means and can be are evident in the way they lived and live. There’s no separation of work and home. The work is home. The work is never finished. And that brings me great comfort and renewed energy when I need it.

How do you keep things fresh with so many potters around?

I do believe that there is a collective consciousness when it comes to creativity. And this can lead to trends in pottery, which can influence potters to make pots that look like a lot of other pots out there. You see similar behaviours in decor and fashion and food. What helps me to stay on my own path is not to look around too much and to trust in my own ideas. This doesn’t mean to say I don’t interrogate certain ideas I come up with quite harshly – some things stay hidden in the notebooks. haha. The thing is, no two potters are alike, for a million reasons – ideals, response to colour, processing information, daily environments, persistence levels etc. – and that’s something I like to spend time thinking about.

Do you have a preferred method of creating?

My only preferred method of creating is to create. To work. I have found that buckling down to do mundane studio tasks can sometimes spark an idea or two.

Any local creators to keep on our radar?

There are some really excellent working potters in South Africa. Ckho Mququ and Alila Hofmeyr are definitely two potters to watch – each with a truly unique style and approach to making functional, well-crafted pots. I am often impressed by Ckho’s precision and unique ideas (especially when it comes to surface decoration) and am equally impressed with Alila’s abilities. She’s moving successfully into creating beautiful porcelain lighting works and fixtures – which is no easy task!

Any tips and tricks for beginners?

The only tip I really have is: be persistent. Be persistent in finding a relationship with clay. Be persistent in asking questions. Ask a lot of questions. Oh, and keep a notebook. ALWAYS KEEP A NOTEBOOK! You’ll find that the more you know about pots, the less you know. And there’s just too much information to rely purely on memory for.

Tell us about your classes?

I teach beginners’ wheel-throwing classes at my studio in Wynberg, Cape Town on Fridays and Saturdays. The studio is small, so I get to give a lot of attention to each student, which I really like. Teaching is a humbling experience, especially when I realise that I’m passing something on that was passed on to me. It feels like the world’s greatest heirloom.

Follow Mudlife Pottery on Instagram or visit the website, here.

Looking for more on art? Take a look at the work of Stephané Conradie.

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26 Statement Planters For Your Home

Gina Beretta — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

COMPILED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring PHOTO Pexels

Turning over a new leaf? Time to raise your jungle game with statement planters that will add almost as much personality to your space as the treasured plants do.

House plants add colour and interest to any space (not to mention oxygen). There are so many aesthetically-pleasing options when it comes to housing your new fronds, so we’ve put a definitive list together to help you choose – from tiny pots perfect for a small succulent to hanging planters, baskets and canvas buckets.

Potjie Pot Plant Holder (glass bowl included) | R433.91 Native Decor

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Emerson Pots | R290 Plantify

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Mia Mélange Planter Basket | From R290

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Metal Planter on Stand | R649 @home

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New Colourway From Le Creuset: Sea Salt

Michaela Stehr — Fri, 29 May 2020 06:00:32 +0000

WORDS Michaela Stehr

Sea Salt is the latest colourway addition to Le Creuset’s extensive collection of cookware, stoneware and kitchen accessories.

Drawing inspiration from the muted tones of fleur de sel and reminiscent of getaways in quiet coastal towns, Sea Salt features a combination of subtle blue and pale green.

Mix and match this calming hue with other statement colours or use as a uniform colour for your collection. A wide range of Le Creuset’s products are available in Sea Salt, from the Signature Casseroles and skillets to mugs, bowls and cocottes.

For more information and to shop online, visit lecreuset.co.za.

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New Colourways From Le Creuset: Meringue and Flint

Michaela Stehr — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 06:00:27 +0000

WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES Christine Meintjes

Le Creuset has introduced a subtle new colourway to its collection, inspired by clarity and intentionality.

Meringue, a calming, soft ivory hue with an organic gradient and glossy texture, will bring a sophisticated elegance to any kitchen or dinner table. Use Meringue as an accent to existing cookware or invest in the collection as a whole.

Available in this colourway is the Signature Round, Oval and Buffet Casseroles; saucepan; wok; skillet grill; square dish; coffee press; storage jars; Heritage Dish; sugar bowl; and milk jug.

Le Creuset has also added a chic dark grey, namely Flint, to its latest hues. Apart from the casserole collection, this hue is also available on the spoon rest; pitcher; whistling teakettle; mugs; salt and pepper mills; round trivet; spatula crock and Balti dish.

Find Meringue and Flint online at lecreuset.co.za or in stores from 1 April 2019.

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Local Collaborations: New Indigenus Planters

Gina Beretta — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 06:00:57 +0000

WORDS Mary Garner

South Africa planter company, Indigenus, founded by Peter van der Post, has collaborated with ceramicist Andile Dyalvane and furniture designer Laurie Wiid van Heerden on two new planter collections.

Both Andile and Laurie’s understanding of the scale and impact of large sculptural planters, and how they impact the landscape of an outdoor area or an architectural space, made them the perfect collaborative partners.

The Bhaca collection, designed by Andile Dyalvane, is made of concrete and clay, the latter a material Andile often chooses to work with. The Bhaca range is available in fire-pit black, concrete grey or bleached white. Laurie’s Terra range sees an updated version of Mid-century Modern planters on stands, with the rectangular planters getting rounded corners, along with a solid base of sturdy Iroko wood.

Indigenus’s planters, which come standard with inner pot linings, are both lightweight and durable.

For more information, visit indigenus.co.za.

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Le Creuset’s Deep Teal Collection

Gina Beretta — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 06:00:11 +0000

WORDS Mary Garner

The new Deep Teal collection by iconic brand Le Creuset is inspired by both interior trends and the calming nature of green and blue hues.

The range forms part of Le Creuset’s new Nature’s Kitchen collection, with the pieces intending to add a sense of calm and tranquility to your cooking and dining spaces.

The brand’s round and oval buffet casseroles and soup pots, as well as salt and pepper mills, mugs, cocottes, bowls, storage jars and whistling stove top kettles are all available as part of the deep-sea-blue cookware range.

Le Creuset‘s Deep Teal collection will be available in store and online from 1 March 2018.

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African-Inspired Design: Gold Bottom Pots

Gina Beretta — Thu, 18 May 2017 06:00:58 +0000

WORDS Palesa Kgasane

Striking the perfect balance between minimal and bold, Gold Bottom Pots designs are an ode to Africa’s rich cultural landscape and a beautiful addition to any space.

Gold Bottom Pots is a Cape-Town based brand that specialises in hand-cast and hand-painted African planters, which we first caught sight of on their Instagram page. Whether you are a minimalist or a prodigal print lover, this brand offers the best of both.

Mixing innovation and design right down to the manufacturing process, we were immediately interested to know who the people behind the brand are and how it all came to be. We spoke to Nikki Schomer to find out more.

What’s in the name?

The name is very literal, since all our pots have a gold bottom. Why? Well, partly because this unique finishing touch lets you know you’re holding the real deal. But more importantly, it reminds you that when you purchase a Gold Bottom Pot you have invested in a product that took time to be carefully handcrafted and was made to last, with respect to human dignity and the environment. We like to think of these qualities as the golden lining that sits at the bottom of everything we do… and we hope you will too.

What is the main inspiration behind the designs of the pots?

The latest Fields of Gold collection was inspired by the symbolic and expressional elements found in South African culture, resulting in original distinct designs that carry individual meaning and symbology.

Tell us about your history in the design world and how the idea for these beautiful pots came about.

The products were born out of my love for plants and my frustration of not being able to find pots for them that weren’t the same old shape and made out of terracotta! My goal was to create an alternative that helped people rethink how they “dress” their plants, giving them the opportunity to turn them into statement pieces that make their homes beautiful and their plants proud.

My background is in fashion, having studied Clothing Management. I went on to spend almost a decade in the fashion industry, as a Buyer and Production Manager. The work exposed me first hand to the terrible reliance we have on imported goods. I later found this is also true to planters – with almost all products sold in SA coming from Asia. So when starting my own business I felt it of utmost importance to grow the South African economy and people by producing a product locally, from start to finish.

Who makes these pots? Walk us through the team and decision makers.

Our planters are cast entirely by hand in small batches in an artisan workshop in Cape Town. The process is time consuming and requires exceptional craftsmanship and artistry, but results in minimal waste and environmental impact and perfect, beautiful products. They are then painted and finished by hand – hours of meticulous sanding and polishing.

I still very much play a part in the production but am fortunate to now have some support on board: artist Songezo Zantsi. Songezo assists in meeting the growing demand. As for me, I juggle a few roles: I manage the business and also straddle the role of creative director – developing new designs as we extend our range. As the business grows, I am excited to employ more South Africans and bring more energy and inspiration to the Gold Bottom team.

What exciting things can we expect from you this year?

We’ll be showcasing our full range at 100% Design SA in Johannesburg this August and we are so excited to visit the City of Gold! A collab with another South African designer is in the works and we will also be launching a new collection and a larger 40 cm planter soon. Watch this space! Our website will hopefully also launch in the next few months allowing for purchase and delivery.

For more information, visit goldbottompots.co.za or email info@goldbottompots.co.za.

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Brian Giniewski Ceramics

Gina Beretta — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 06:00:29 +0000

WORDS Cheri Morris

Ceramicist Brian Giniewski moved to Philadelphia in the US to marry the woman of his dreams and start his own ceramic studio, making unique and colourful pieces.

Prior to the start of the ceramic studio, Brian spent six years teaching art at university level and making pots in his spare time. Brian’s wife Krista is his ceramic sidekick and she spends her spare time helping him create and share their pretty pastel designs. Their range includes pet dishes, planters, vases, bowls, cups and sets that you can personalise with your very own colour-way.

Brian enjoys nothing more than working with his hands and creating his ice-cream-like pieces. The response to the line of ceramics has been remarkable and they are now seeking funding to spruce up their new studio space in a converted factory building with new kilns and assistants that they can train up to help them fulfil their larger orders, bringing their perfect pottery to happy people around the world. View their Kickstarter page here to find out more.

To shop these pretty ceramics, visit brianginiewski.com.

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New Le Creuset Colour: French Riviera

Michaela Stehr — Thu, 26 May 2016 06:00:07 +0000

WORDS Michaela Stehr

As of September 2016, you’ll be able to add Le Creuset’s new vivid French Riviera blue to your list of kitchen must-haves.

This refreshing new hue is inspired by the coastal towns of the south of France. The sea-blue tone is set in a soft matte finish.

The range is perfect for al fresco dining and the onset of spring. The colour will be available in a selection of products within the Cast Iron, Stoneware and Silicone ranges.

For more information about the new colour, visit lecreuset.co.za.

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pots Archives | Visi

Indigenus: Pebble Collection

READ MORE: Inspired by Africa: Indigenus’ Aarde Collection

Q&A With Mudlife Pottery

26 Statement Planters For Your Home

READ MORE: Where to Buy Indoor Plants Online in SA

READ MORE: 5 Water-wise Plants We Should All Have in Our Homes

New Colourway From Le Creuset: Sea Salt

New Colourways From Le Creuset: Meringue and Flint

Local Collaborations: New Indigenus Planters

Le Creuset’s Deep Teal Collection

African-Inspired Design: Gold Bottom Pots

Brian Giniewski Ceramics

New Le Creuset Colour: French Riviera