A small run, made in service of something else

In January 2021, we produced a limited run of pourers as part of a fundraiser for Simon on the Streets. At that point, the studio was operating under significant pressure, and using our making in service of something outside the studio felt important work.

The pourers were made within a short timeframe, alongside other commitments in the studio. That pace shaped how the work was approached. Rather than thinking in terms of scale, the focus was on - working in a small, methodical way, paying attention to consistency and finish within the limits of time. Care mattered as something practised under constraint.

The fundraiser coincided with a shift in our glaze work. We were moving from earthenware into stoneware glazes, and the surfaces used on the pourers reflected the accumulation of Chris’s ongoing material research, including work developed through the Ceramic Materials Workshop during the pandemic. Glazes such as tomato, flecked treacle, and pickled red showed a growing confidence in how surface, colour, and depth could be handled.

Naming the glazes using food references wasn’t about branding. It was a practical way of describing surface. Food and glaze share a language and those names became a shorthand for how a surface feels, not just how it appears. They also opened up useful conversations about context: where a glaze works well, where it doesn’t, and how it interacts with form.

Running the fundraiser had other effects too. It kept the studio visible at a time when much was closing down, and when opportunities to share work felt limited. More importantly, it provided a way to look outward - to focus attention beyond our own immediate challenges - while still doing what we know how to do well. Making something useful, carefully, and with intent.

All funds raised through the sale were donated to Simon on the Streets, supporting people experiencing homelessness and vulnerability across West Yorkshire. Looking back, the project sits alongside others from that period - not because of its scale, but because of its energy. It’s a reminder of the intensity we brought to the studio to keep it working, and of the vibrancy that can emerge when making, values, and purpose briefly align.