Three glazes, one cup

Every one of our vessels is a stoneware cup thrown on a wheel by a potter we have worked with for years, in a small workshop and in small firings. No two are exactly alike. This is how the three glazes came about.

A cup first, a candle second

We wanted a vessel that would still be worth keeping when the candle was finished: a cup you could drink from, or fill with brushes, pens or a few flowers. That meant stoneware, fired hot enough to be dense and durable, in a form simple enough to sit anywhere.

The first samples were too tall and too narrow. The candle burned well, but the flame sat deep in the cup and the light stayed inside. Over several rounds the cup grew shorter and wider, with a slightly thicker wall, so the flame rises close to the rim and the warmth spreads evenly.

Bone, Clay and Ash

The glazes took longer. We wanted colours taken from the materials themselves, not from a paint chart.

• Bone: a soft, warm white, like unbleached linen. Paired with linden blossom and beeswax, our lightest scent.
• Clay: a terracotta-sand, close to the raw clay before firing. Paired with fig leaf and cedar.
• Ash: a grey speckled with iron. Paired with smoked vetiver.

A cup worth keeping when the candle is finished.

Why each one is different

Glazes move in the kiln. Where a glaze runs thin at the rim, the clay shows through; where it pools, the colour deepens. The speckles in the Ash land wherever the iron falls. We see these small differences as the mark of something made by hand, not as faults.

Each cup is checked when it reaches the atelier. The inside must be fully glazed and smooth, so the wax releases cleanly at the end and the cup can be washed.

After the candle

Stop burning when about a centimetre of wax is left in the bottom. Pour in hot water, let the last of the wax float up and set, then lift it out. Wash the cup in warm soapy water, and it is ready for its second life.

If you would like all three, The Three Glazes brings them together in one box, each with its own scent.