GG Clayworks
Small-batch handmade ceramics by Grace Edwards, based in Liverpool, UK. Grace makes pottery alongside her other love, marketing for museums. Great Objects took 5 with Grace to learn more about how she started and what she's loving at the moment.
How and why did you start your brand?
I started making pottery around seven years ago. I all of a sudden had an urge to try pottery, and I went along to a drop in studio, and fell in love. As soon as my pots were of a good enough quality, I started to sell them. Any potter will tell you that you very quickly amass a lot of pots, vases and mugs. So GG Clayworks was borne of the very real need to share my pottery with others, and create space for more pottery in my home.
From there, I started to do markets and sold on Etsy, and also started to build a following on Instagram. Fast forward a few years and today my pottery has evolved massively, but the way I sell is very similar: face to face at markets, through Instagram and on my website. I’ve also added wholesale into the mix, which allows me to reach a new audience completely - and I love working with other creatives who, with new eyes, think of interesting colour combinations or design features. This collaborative aspect to wholesale is something I find really fun.
What makes a 'Great Object' to you?
A great object might be something useful or beautiful. I studied aesthetic philosophy for my Masters degree, and became fascinated by the link between the beautiful and the useful. And today, as a craftsperson, I love the idea that something can be beautiful just because it’s useful. If it performs a function, makes your life easier, or frees up time for you, then I think that can be just as beautiful as something fitting a certain aesthetic. However, I definitely try to achieve a balance with my pottery. So to me, a great object is something that exists in the realm between the beautiful and the useful. But ultimately, a great object is whatever someone wants it to be.
What is your favourite piece in the collection?
My favourite pieces are probably the serving platters. Each was individually glazed in a way that’s unique - I really just let the paintbrush take over, and I love how that’s manifested in the look and feel of them. For something so static - I feel that they have a lot of movement. With the green one, the way that the clay contrasts to the coloured glaze inside is magical to me: it’s a reminder of what can be hidden, and also what can be discovered.
What are you loving at the moment?
At the moment I am really loving my Audible subscription. I spend hours alone in the studio at a time, but when I’m in the company of books, and the characters that occupy them, I never feel like I’m on my own. I listen to all sorts of books: novels (I recently flew through The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah), non-fiction (The White Road by Edmund de Waal is about one man’s travel to satisfy his obsession with porcelain) and podcasts (The Oasthouse by Alan Partridge provides loads of chuckles). It means that as I work away in the studio: making, glazing or loading the kiln, I can also read. It’s been great.
Shop the GG Clayworks collection here.
Studio images by Cassandra Lane.