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Behind every piece is a story, and this is ours.
At Habulous, everything we sell is handmade in our little studio on the edge of Dartmoor. Although our studio isn’t the biggest space it is a cosy place that feels like home for a bunch of creatives like us! The surrounding countryside and vast moorland are a constant source of inspiration and motivation.
'Handmade' means exactly that - everything is made in our studio by one of our team, and for many of our pieces we have all played a part in its crafting. Take a mug for example; Nicky throws the body on the wheel, ready for Ellie to then make and attach the handle. After it’s first firing, Greg will sand and glaze the piece, ready for it’s final firing.
The nature of our ceramic work being handmade means each piece comes with its own unique quirks that separate it from the sometimes characterless uniformity of mass-produced products. Having something you know took time and skill to make, and, that there is nothing else completely identical, is pretty special. Wouldn’t you agree?
The hand-making process is very evident in pieces such as our jellyfish air plant shells and whale vases. In the clay body you will often see marks left from fingers, palms and the tools we use. We love the individual character brought out by this as it makes every piece unique.
On the other hand, some things aren’t always in our control which add to the overall character of a piece. This is most evident in our glazes. Due to the natural variation in colourants or the varying temperatures in the kiln, colours may be softer or more vibrant. When quality checking, if these differences are too extreme, a piece may be marked as a second (read about seconds here).
In ceramics, there are many things that make the hard work especially rewarding. There’s nothing more exciting (and occasionally nerve-wracking!) than opening the kiln to see how the finished pieces look. As a small team, seeing shelves stocked with our work is incredibly satisfying and makes us proud of our efforts. When an order comes in, it is a particularly special moment as we know our hard work has paid off and that someone loves our product as much as we did making it.
So please keep supporting small businesses like us, because it means we can keep doing what we love and coming up with new products that are handcrafted, and, most importantly, unique.
