17th April 2018

London Craft Week: Feldspar in the making

Made from almost translucent fine bone china, Feldspar’s tableware combines this delicate material with characterful imperfections and traces of the hand that really inspire you to imagine how they are made. But now you don’t have to imagine any longer. At a live ceramics demonstration at The Conran Shop on Saturday 12 May you can see Feldspar’s Jeremy Brown explain how he designs these elegant pieces, all part of London Craft Week.

Moving from Hackney to a thatched farmhouse on Dartmoor, husband and wife duo Jeremy and Cath Brown set up design brand Feldspar almost by accident. After the move, Cath (an architectural designer) and Jeremy (a UN expert helping luxury fashion houses develop ethical and sustainable supply chains) found that the space and freedom of Devon life allowed them the time to learn the skills to furnish their new home with creations of their own making. Now their fine bone china tableware, natural soaps, candles and lambswool blankets are stocked all over the UK from the V&A and Soho Farmhouse to The Conran Shop.

Jeremy Brown, Feldspar.

And it’s at The Conran Shop’s Chelsea store that Jeremy will show London Craft Week visitors how Feldspar’s china coffee cups come to life in a live model-making session between 11am to 5pm on Saturday 12 May. Given that each delicate ceramic vessel is slip-cast, the first step on its journey is the making of a master model. A lathed cylinder of plaster is shaped and detailed using chisels, gouges and other tools, before being ‘blocked out’ with clay and cast in plaster to form the mould. Some of Feldspar’s products require moulds with as many as four parts.

Cobalt Blue Coffee cups by Feldspar.

The live demo is part of The Conran Shop’s London Craft Week programme, Global Market, which will also showcase the techniques behind products by Danish furniture designer Carl Hansen & Søn and Japanese ceramic miniaturist Yuta Segawa. You’ll also be able to pick up Feldspar’s fine bone china products in The Conran Shop for the first time during London Craft Week, including cups and mugs, milk jugs and butter dishes all made using the same process demonstrated by Jeremy.

Cobalt Blue Butter Dish by Feldspar.

Jeremy and Cath, Feldspar.

Don't miss out on The Global Market: Crafting by Design at The Conran Shop, get the date in your diary!