MY STORY & PHILOSOPHY
Welcome, I am Cara and my husband, Andrew Fitzmaurice, we live in rural West Cornwall, our cottage sits high up on a hill, protected by Ash, Oak and Blackthorn. Our studio is located in a barn at home, we share our barn with several sparrow families who return to nest every year.
We are witness to the life of flora and fauna in the meadows and woodland here, much of our work is inspired from stories of home. I journal the seasons of land and sea here in Cornwall and through this process I begin my designs.
Our slow made pieces are made from local St. Agnes stoneware clay, many of the brush-heads I use I make from natural foraged fibres. All our work is made purely by traditional hand building (no wheel), through rolling out clay into slabs, folding, coiling and pinching. Air dried then fired twice. Hand brushed glazes are built up in layers over time. The full process can take up to 4 weeks. Some pieces are made using primitive techniques such as raku, smoke firing, saggar and surface marking with natural materials such as seaweed or those that I forage on our land such as seed heads.
In a world of mass produced objects we create space for the joy of unique, hand formed pieces. Our work is free forming and open, believing there is nothing more authentic than handmade pieces where imperfections connect the product to the makers, creating an organic and unique look.
Our ethos
We endeavour like so many now to live a life where we can notice the everyday and the ever changing world around us. We try to tread lightly in life. We mainly use rainwater in the studio, often make to order, recycle our clay which is brought locally, we embrace electric travel and are living a vegan lifestyle. We use eco friendly packaging or packaging saved from landfill as we aim to reduce our carbon footprint on this wonderful planet Earth.
Freedom to express creativity and our ever learning path to slow living (Sustainable, Local, Organic and Whole) are at the heart of our core values. We are mainly self taught, and I absolutely love sharing the therapeutic nature of clay with others through our workshops.
We hope that through our work we can bring moments of calm to you, whether through holding one of our mugs while watching rain fall from a window or cosied up with a tealight holder creating a gentle moment for you. Each of our pieces are made with an abundance of love and gratitude, I hope the joy I have in making them translates to our customers.
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Where to buy
You can buy our work online on this website; Etsy; Not On The High Street, Folksy (also available through other small independent businesses).
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Galleries
Four Crows Gallery, Porthleven, Cornwall - Bells, mugs, Trinket bowls, hedgerow dishes, candle holders, larger hand built items, match pots, wax burners, salt and pepper pots, twig spoons
Alison Orchard Fine Art - , Applegarth Farm, Headley Road, Hampshire www.alisonorchard.com - Coastal range
Gallery 35 - Cranbrook, Kent www.gallery35highstreet.com raku candle holder houses
Katie Goddard Art, Olney, Milton Keynes -mugs, wax burners and matchstick pots
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Shops
Me and East - Totnes - a beautiful range of items such as botanical, poetry plates and bowls, seasonal candle holders, bells ,raku houses
The St. Ives Co, St Ives, Cornwall - twig spoons, salt and pepper pots and soap dishes
Island Aura, Alderney - wax burners and matchstick pots
Latitude 50 (South west craft markets) -Christmas mugs, match holders and forager bowls
Hiraeth Vintage - Anglesey - Raku Candle holder houses
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Studio Visits Visits to the studio in Chacewater Cornwall to meet us and view our work are available by appointment
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