5 minute read
Dynamic ceramics – the Whitstable
dynamic ceramics
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Writer
Amie O’Connor Poole
Photography
Emma Read and Joe Josland for Harbour Street Tapas, George Foster, Amie O’Connor Poole
Meet the Whitstable potters firing up to change the way we eat and drink, through collaboration with some of our favourite cafés and restaurants
The work of Whitstable’s passionate potters seems to make its way into almost every home, whether it’s the result of treasure hunting for trinkets at the regular Artists’ Open Houses or browsing the shelves at Frank for Vicky Hageman’s perfect pourers or planters.
Now a new wave of ceramicists with a love of food and functionality are collaborating with local businesses to create bespoke designs made to flawlessly fit their purpose. Riv + Read, Homefolk and White Clay all began their journey under the tutelage of Carol Foster, a well loved local ceramicist who’s been throwing pots and teaching classes in Whitstable for over 20 years.
No stranger to creating bespoke ceramics herself, Foster first worked with the Sportsman to create their slip sole plates. “People are learning skills from their parents’ generation, taking everything forward and expanding on it,” she says. “Nowadays, restaurants are more willing to invest in bespoke signature ware leading to conversations and collaborations between ceramicists and chefs.”
Here’s how some of these clay-based collaborations are stamping their mark on the town’s food scene.
Riv + Read
“We’re friends that share a love of food and pottery,” says Rebecca Hornby, one half of Riv + Read. Fresh from their small central Whitstable studio and still covered in clay, Hornby and business partner Emma Read speak excitedly about how far they’ve come and plans for the future.
Read, who also works front-ofhouse at the Sportsman alongside her partner, head chef and owner Stephen Harris, explains that things started to happen quite organically: “One day I brought home some of our plates and Stephen really liked them. He said, ‘Do you think you make enough for the restaurant?’ It made us think about the functionality of tableware, about how it looks like a frame for the food. But with my other work hat on I was thinking how plates also need to be easy to pick up from the table. Our plates are light as they are moulded, not thrown, allowing us to control the weight and make them more ergodynamic.”
Just as the pair started making plates for the Sportsman, they responded to an open call from Tate Modern, resulting in a collection of Riv + Read ceramics being stocked in the Tate Edit shop. They are also working on private commissions and with Floragy, a natural skincare indie in Faversham. “There are so many areas we’d love to explore, including homeware,” reveals Hornby. “We aim for everything we make to be functional and usable,” adds Read. “I love the idea of our plates being used every day in restaurants and people’s homes.”
IG: @rivandread
Berry bowls and vases
Image courtesy of Joe Josland for Harbour Street Tapas
Homefolk Ceramics
We catch Nadine Sansom from Homefolk Ceramics on a busy week, split between workshops and lessons in Whitstable and her shared studio space in Hythe. “I started creating with clay in 2017, first just handbuilding, then I learnt to throw on the potter’s wheel,” she recalls. “A couple of years later I was selling my first pots and soon afterward knew that I wanted it to be my full-time job.”
Many locals will recognise Nadine’s work from the shelves of Grain & Hearth. “I met Adam and Carmen by chance before they opened,” says Nadine. “Carmen started pottery lessons with me to create plant pots to decorate the bakery and Adam asked me to design some travel cups, and that’s when the ‘Keepie’ was born. It is now one of my best-selling products. They are also passionate about making and craftsmanship, so it was a perfect match. Currently I’m working on some cosy mugs and they have commissioned bowls to serve their delicious homemade soup from.” “Nadine’s ceramic keep cups are a sustainable option that feel beautiful to hold and drink from. The processes involved in sourdough baking and pottery have many similarities. Pure alchemy”
CARMEN PAGOR, CO-OWNER OF GRAIN & HEARTH
The Grain & Hearth wares aren’t Nadine’s only local commission: “I’ve recently created some bespoke tableware for Meadow Nest glamping pods at Monkshill Farm, and soon I’ll be working with Jo Kornstein, owner of picturesque holiday let Tides Cottage, on an exciting new project. I always aim to make ceramics that are both beautiful and functional. I want my customers to enjoy the ritual of handmade, through using my work every day.”
White Clay of Whitstable
While most of Whitstable’s residents can’t get down the street without a few nods and waves, sitting with George Foster of White Clay at David Brown’s Deli, there are seemingly constant hellos and the odd shout of “George, I need some plates!” as we settle down to discuss his ceramics.
“Growing up in such a friendly, foodie town has made things easy,” says George, who is Carol Foster’s son. “When I started, I had already been working in kitchens for ten years. I just saw it as a way for my mum to pass on some of her amazing knowledge to someone in the family.”
But thanks to Foster’s understanding of what kitchens require from their tableware, the commissions soon came in. First from Rafael Lopez at the Goods Shed, where George was working at the time. “For me, it was all about solving annoying things,” he says. “Like when the edges of the Pyrex jugs we were using rounded over time, I wanted to make something with the right cutting edge. It’s about substance over style and creating something that works.”
Now you’ll find pots from White Clay in Cafe + Kitchen, Farm & Harper, the Sportsman and Samphire, but maybe most noticeably at Harbour Street Tapas, who use his colourful bowls for everything from small salads to sardines. “There’s trust and respect, because I understand the kitchen side of things,” says George.
Where would George ultimately like to see his work? He says it’s all relative: “While I would love to see my tableware somewhere like my friend’s restaurant, Da Terra in Bethnal Green, going to a mate’s house and seeing them serve up bolognese in it gives me the same sense of pride.”
