The new designer’s graduate collection, entitled Ambiguous Tableware, comprises six different clay vessels, each available in one of three earthy colours, and glazed on the inside only. As a group, they resemble archetypal tableware, but individually their simple, open forms defy definition, enabling the user to determine the function of each.
Francesca’s research into ceramics, their varying style, form, function and process of manufacture, all began with a visit to the V&A ceramics department. Here she explored the link between geographical and cultural variations in tableware, and where often you are able to identify where a piece of tableware originates. She then began to explore the notion of mass producing a ceramics collection that still incorporated some of these recognisable variations.
The ‘Jigger’ or ‘Jolly’ was once a popular way of producing identical industrial ceramic tableware, but has been made obsolete by modern production methods. Francesca challenged the standard ‘jiggering’ technique, to create a process by which she could produce hand crafted objects at scale. “A plaster mould (a negative) is manufactured and placed onto the spinning machine, clay is then pushed into the mould, and the cutting tool removes the inside forming the clay body.” she explains.
By altering the way she tools the clay, Francesca is able to create shapes of varying heights from one mould, maintaining a uniform aesthetic across three different vessels. By creating a collection of multiple pieces, each with their own quirks, she has taken mass production to a level of individuality through the process of making.
Each piece is available in either white, buff or black – colours selected through a series of experiments with pigments and glaze. Francesca fired fourteen different clays throughout the process to judge colour as well as materiality and shrinkage.
“I chose three clays from my testing, all with distinctly different attributes,” she tells Design Geek. “They all provide a different tactility for the user, while having different weights and aesthetics. Two of my choices are not typically used to manufacture tableware, but through specific firing and glazing, I have enabled each clay to be food safe, non-porous and nice to eat from.”
Due to the importance that Francesca has placed on two clear aspects of her inspiration, whether that is described as form versus function or product versus process, her set of tableware designs not only have the efficiency of modern, mass production, but also hold the value of individuality, giving the collection timeless appeal.
Francesca Moutafis is one of Look Like Love’s ‘One-to Watch’ designers, find out more about her work here
