10 Playful Ceramics to Add to Your Shelf
Scandinavian, soft hues, interesting shapes and gradient style mugs.
Scandinavian, soft hues, interesting shapes and gradient style mugs.
Dana Covit of The New York Times puts it well: “the magnetism of a good mug is hardly a new phenomenon. But during the pandemic, many ceramic artists have seen the kind of customer excitement more associated with clothing lines or concert tickets. Some pieces are selling out within seconds of being posted on websites and Instagram pages.”
Ceramic drop culture makes a lot of sense: sculptors are spending hundreds of hours creating pieces themselves, resulting in limited quantities. The desire to get your hands, quite literally, on a mug before it sells out in a matter of minutes when they come in such pleasing hues and unique shapes, unable to be found in a traditional retail setting, creates the perfect storm.
Today, we’ve laid out an array of our favorite mugs and other ceramics for your viewing pleasure. You’ll likely need to sign up for their newsletters to find out when the next drop is.
Summer School Shop | Toni Mug, $42
Summer School is a handmade line of homewares made by Karen D'Ambrosi in Richmond, Virginia.
Studio Hecha | Ceramics
Studio Hecha uses their background in graphic design to create one-of-a-kind art pieces with clay. They’re made to push the boundaries of functional form and bridge the gap between art and design.
The Clay Play | Etsy | Instagram
The mother-daughter duo behind this playful, hand-built ceramics studio is based in Sønderborg, Denmark. On their Etsy, you’ll find plates, trays and candle holders in addition to their beautiful mugs.
Bettunika | instagram
You’re able to buy handmade ceramics directly from Betina Jørgensen’s Instagram, made in Denmark on the principles of interest, intuition and curiosity.
Sea + Pattern | Shop
Sea + Pattern began by sharing their love of modern simplicity through fashion and lifestyle. They now express this through handmade jewelry design and homewares, based in Portland, Oregon.
Lolly Lolly Ceramics | Shop
Founded in 2017 by Lalese Stamps, Lolly Lolly Ceramics focuses on objects that are functional, unique and handmade to last. In September of 2019, Lalese embarked on a 100 Day Project where she made 100 mugs with 100 different handles for 100 Days, bringing national recognition to the Lolly Lolly name.
MiMi Ceramics | Shop
Mica DeMarquez of Mimi Ceramics lives and works in Portland, Oregon. She is self taught and has been making pottery since 2014. Mica finds inspiration from architecture, fashion, graphic design, typography and interior design. She enjoys making practical and functional objects with sculptural influence. Each piece is hand thrown on the wheel, as well as hand painted and glazed.
Kuu Pottery | Shop
Kuupottery is a ceramics studio born in Miami, Florida, now producing ceramic collections in small batches in Seattle, Washington. The collections made and sold at Kuu are packaged with sustainable packaging and are created with locally-sourced materials in small batches.
Hotel Ceramics | Shop
All pieces are handmade to order by Sara Lioanag using the pottery wheel and hand-building techniques in Portland, Oregon. Each piece has a unique quality— no two pieces are exactly the same.
We hope that you enjoy and found a few new small batch ceramicists to support in your search for unique homewares. Have a lovely day!