This was just another highlight during our BlogTourLA with Modenus. Geraldine suggested a visit to Heath Ceramics and I am so glad Veronika just made it possible! This is going to be a long post!
Heath Ceramics has a fantastic showroom in Los Angeles featuring their collections and products from like-minded designer/makers. And you can admire Adam Silverman’s workshop and see him work when he is around. He is the LA studio director at Heath Ceramics, potter and exhibits his own work too.
You will have heard about the famous bud vases when you are familiar with Heath Ceramics. This is part of the S/S13 collection with a stunning ombre effect.
The combination of their own collection and featuring other makers with really nice handmade work is such a different way of thinking and building a creative community, and I love it!
We have been told that quality standards are that high, pieces are slowly popping in the stores and in case of the LA showroom, by Friday the shelves of their dinnerware are almost empty.
I am a mood board ‘sucker’ and could have spent hours taking good note of the different glazes and tear sheets. You see the larger b&w image of a potter? That’s Edith Heath. And here goes her story:
Edith (1911-2005) founded Heath Ceramics in 1948. She was a talented ceramicist with a great respect for craft and material, and a strong point of view on the product: simple, good things for good people.
Her pieces were designed to enjoy a single kiln firing, at a lower than normal temperature, saving energy and still producing a durable and non-porous product. I’d love to know what temperature that was and what clay bodies she used for my own pieces. This is exactly one of the main topics when it come to make a collection profitable.
When her husband, an engineer and inventor, converted an old treadle-powered sewing machine into a potter’s wheel (access to pottery wheels those days were limited), and later installed a gas-fired kiln in the basement, Edith was able to practice her newfound craft, developing endless glaze formulations.
Heath Ceramics dinnerware has been used in homes for more than half a century considered among the most enduring examples of mid-century design. It reminds me a bit of Scandinavian furniture from the 50’s. Edith was not likely to follow trends, which is one reason that Heath is still around and many other potteries have disappeared with its timeless and unfussy quality.
Heath was purchased in 2003 by Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey who teamed up with Adam Silverman in 2008. We enjoyed a guided tour through his workspace and I got a second peak this day on an interesting mood board with loads of ancient ceramic references.
The LA showroom includes this studio where Adam Silverman designs and creates original pieces for their three retail spaces.
Here you see a mock-up of a soon to come exhibition of this work. Is there anything more interesting than getting a glimpse behind the scenes? The characteristic Heath vases on top are customized with his signature bubble glaze becoming special edition pieces.
And these were all pieces ready and prepared for future exhibitions.
And to finish up, I fell for this commissioned lamps for a restaurant. Would love to see the light they are giving with all these little random wholes in the shade.
I have loved this visit, it has truly inspired me, my current mood board is full of Heath images, and I can’t wait to go back to my workshop and getting my fingers dirty in clay again.
Have a wonderful week ahead!
19 Responses
Gudy in ceramics-wonderland! The perfect place for you, I can imagine that it inspired you a lot!
Indeed it was a bit wonderland! Could have stayed there as an interim for a while…
Espectacular!
Me siento atraida totalmente por ese trabajo manual tan espectacular. Me da igual si es una colección más clásica, básica, como una cañera y extravagante.
Siento las manos, el calor del horno, los tintes, todo!
Que grande poder visitarlos!
Un abrazo Gudy!
ene
Me das mucho respeto. ¿Todo eso lo sientes? :-) Un día nos vamos a un taller juntas! O te vienes al mío! Un abrazo!
Me apunto a un bombardeo!
Y ya sabes, las brujas, tenemos hipersensibilidad! jajaja!
Besos
ene
Hey Gudy, I read about Heath at Geraldine’s, but love your story and pics so much. What a showroom, FAB and what an astounding lady. Hope you are well my friend, much love
Axx
Dear Anya, isn’t it interesting to read the same story seen through different eyes? I loved G’s post too! Sending you a big hug up north! x
That BlogTourLA visit really was such a highlight of our trip. As a huge collector of pottery, it was a treat to see another master at work and the generations of other ceramicists that Edith Heath inspired. Love how you captured what you saw!
xo Tami
Thank you Tami, grateful for having visited together! x
Gudy, your pictures really do the shop and studio justice for those who were unable to see it in person. Thank you for letting me step right back into that moment; it was such a fascinating and inspiring hour or two that we spent there. Hugs to you from London! x
Will, hope all is well with you in stormy London by now. Yes, it’s been of my highlights. Wish they would come to Europe. x
Wonderful – I’m in love with the white blue ones on the first pic. Hugs, Sabine
I know and they made the ombre effect look really powdery! x
How wonderful to see the workshop and I absolutely LOVE the exhibition model! Thanks so much for sharing Gudy! xx
Me too. I had never seen any of an exhibition and with these tiny pictures. Nice learnings! x
what an amazing place … I love to see the life behind the objects and to have the chance to visit such a workshop is wonderful! xx
We were really so lucky! Visiting Heath plus the workshop was a true privilege. Just imagine Adam Silverman had been around…
Hi Gudy, a wonderful post. I knew you would love Heath ceramics. Can’t wait to see your own ceramic pieces soon. xx
I love the graphic textures of these ceramics! And their name is so clever (heath). This workshop reminds me of my mother’s ceramic experiments in the 80s. The broken ceramics are so endearing too: so much effort and then they brake in the oven. Thanks for a glimpse behind the scenes, Gudy!