Sparrows Nest Ceramics - Cara and 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 (Cara) journal the seasons of land and sea here in Cornwall and through this process I begin the designs.
Our slow made pieces are often 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 we believe there is nothing more authentic than handmade pieces where imperfections connect the product to the makers, creating an organic and unique look.
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 we have in making them translates to our customers.
