HOST x Studio Perring: A Collaboration in Clay and Sustainable Design

STRATA CERAMIC COLLECTION

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Whatever the reason may be - a desire to try something new, acquire new skills, a need to unwind from daily woes, or the pursuit of professional development - an increasing number of people are taking up pottery. Perhaps this is, at least in part, inspired by the serenity of its unhurried processes and the earthy scents that fill ceramic studios - a natural remedy to the relentless pace of modern life.

Ceramic studios have become fascinating spaces that blend community and solitude - both bustling hubs of creativity and peaceful sanctuaries, particularly towards the tail end of the year, with Christmas fast-approaching they hum with renewed energy, with makers preparing for markets and shops vying once again for attention.

It is easy, amid all this to overlook some of the industry’s less visible realities. Despite often being portrayed otherwise, the ceramics industry is highly energy-intensive. It relies heavily on clay - a finite natural resource that takes thousands of years to form. Clay requires significant energy to process and is notoriously difficult to recycle, making it a particularly challenging waste stream.

For this reason, we deeply value the genuine efforts of those who strive to cherish and honour this life-sustaining material. It is with great pleasure that we share such an accomplishment in our latest collaboration with the London-based, Studio Perring.

Patiently developed, this collaboration seeks to bring forth the studio’s distinctive contemporary style so full of character and wonderful tactility throughout a sculptural ceramic range with much-reduced impact on the environment. The highly distinctive collection of sculptural (also functional) pieces is handcrafted using a clay body blend of recovered studio clays, developed exclusively for HOST.

Graham Perring of Studio Perring is a ceramic artist whose work is primarily hand built. Hand building allows greater control in the distribution of the material from heavy grogged coarse black clay with pronounced tactile qualities to lighter flecked clays which are used to evoke a sense of fragility and delicacy so distinctive for his work.

Although requiring more time to produce, this method allows Graham to explore the inherent characteristics of clay, expressing how each constituent element can play a distinct role and be harnessed to produce endlessly varied and unexpected outcomes. This is evident in how the same material can display both highly textured qualities and glass-smooth surfaces, through different methods of finishing.

His work explores the dialogue between form and proportion, and between surface and material. This inquiry extends beyond production, finishing and firing, incorporating crushed ceramic waste from his earlier unsatisfactory fired work, which he blends into the clay body to create new and unique compositions.

Graham draws inspiration from the landscapes of the Suffolk coast, which he has visited throughout his life. The layered geological strata revealed by coastal erosion speak of a fragile beauty and an environmental and ecological balance that humanity continues to disrupt. This connection informs his deep commitment to sustainable and circular making processes.

This collaboration, and its use of a high percentage of reclaimed clays, is demonstrated through four distinctive vessels. The larger bowls – #24 and #21 – are made using a blend of stoneware clays for visual contrast, finished externally with rubbed red iron oxide and internally with a matt black glaze. The distribution of material, from heavily grogged coarse black clay at the base to lighter flecked clay at the rim, produces variation that is unique to each piece.

The smaller artworks – #79M and #79S – are hand built using a 100% recovered stoneware clay body blend containing 12% crushed ceramic waste. Finished internally with a matt black glaze and left unglazed externally, these pieces embody a raw, tactile quality that has become a signature of Graham’s work.

Produced in London E10 and arriving just in time for the festive season, this exclusive ceramic collection is now available at HOST. We hope you enjoy the range as much as we do and we invite you to consider environment-centred, sustainable design this Christmas and beyond.

Love team @ HOST