Feldspar
Feldspar began in late 2016 after Jeremy and Cath Brown moved from London to the wilds of Dartmoor in Devon for a slower pace of life and some (head)space. Before they knew it, they’d bought a pottery wheel and made a 20-piece dinner set in time for Christmas. They soon realised that designing and making everything they needed felt so rewarding, and they set about turning their newfound hobby into a design brand.
Their ethos was to create ‘objects for life’ - beautiful things made properly and to last, with an elegant and simple aesthetic to weather the trends of time. Inspired by items their grandparents used daily that were fifty, or even 300 years old and still serving their purpose perfectly, Jeremy and Cath began by making a mug for coffee - with a wonky profile to sit perfectly in the hand (A little bonus info - mugs are actually only cylindrical because they are easier to make that way) and a fine handle hand-painted in a deep Cobalt blue to echo the palette of classic chinaware. Made out of fine bone china (the strongest type of ceramic) by a family pottery in Stoke on Trent.
In 2018 Feldspar set up their own ceramics studio in Devon to supplement the production in Stoke. The team makes everything using a method called 'slip casting' - pouring liquid clay into plaster moulds. Mould making, slip-casting and industrial bone china production are all listed as critically endangered crafts by the Heritage Crafts Association in the UK. Feldspar were therefore anxious to preserve the skills and craft required to keep bone china production going in England, and to show that it is perfectly possible to make things from start to finish in the UK. Their Devon Pottery Studio now makes half of all the ceramics, and everything they make is hand painted on location.
