Gather around the table
Words: Tous Mag | Image Credits: © Frida Cooper |
How do you like your eggs in the morning? On a speckled plate, please, sir! There’s nothing quite like a big blowout breakfast spread to start your Saturday morning - some might say it’s what gets them through the week - the smell of fresh coffee lingering up the stairs is enough to lure anybody out of bed. Food is essential but it can also be one of life’s simple pleasures, besides, with 3 meals commanding you around the table per diem it becomes a fundamental part of your day. So, although you might not want to lay your table with Royal Copenhagen dinnerware - understandably - there’s a sense of satisfaction to be had from a modest collection of stoneware to add an organic, earthy rawness to those sunny-side uppers.
“From a very early age most of our meals were prepared, eaten and enjoyed on handmade plates and bowls. For me, things just seem to taste so much nicer on a plate that someone has put their heart into.” Frida Cooper
Frida Cooper, Manchester based Ceramicist, grafts all of her unique pieces by hand using a technique called slab building. Each ceramic piece is refined to such high calibre it’s astonishing to learn Frida’s clay journey began a mere 3 years ago. The subtle colours of concrete are delicately complimented by tin white glazes, while others are at the betterment of a contrasted black matt clay body with a shine glaze to finish. We, here at Tous Mag, hold Frida’s sentimentality towards her stoneware in high esteem. Striving to create objects that are practical, functional and robust for everyday use, these inspired collections are intended for those with a love for eating, drinking, and bringing people together.
Read the full interview with Frida Cooper, below!
Tous Mag: Have you always lived in Manchester?
Frida Cooper: For the most part of my life, yes. I was born in Hackney, London but grew up in a village just outside of Manchester.
Tous Mag: What's the Makers scene like there, do you get a sense that there's a creative community in the city?
Frida Cooper: Manchester’s extremely creative. There is definitely a strong community of artists, makers and musicians here. I currently work from a shared studio called 7 spot, in Islington mill, which is full of artist studios and home to some wonderfully talented people. There’s a strong community of independent shops and cafes here, too, who support many creatives and that, alone, makes Manchester one of my favourite cities.
Tous Mag: How would you describe the life of a ceramicist, personally speaking?
Frida Cooper: Ceramics is currently something I do part-time whilst working a full-time job in a small independent cafe. So, most of my spare time and evenings are spent creating. In the very near future I hope to take the leap to be doing this full-time as making and being creative is definitely where I feel my most useful and fulfilled. I have been making ceramics for almost 3 years now and it’s something I’m extremely passionate about. It’s the most amazing feeling to produce items that people want in their every day life and that - when designing pieces - is always something at the forefront of my mind.
As many other ceramicists will, perhaps, agree; ceramics is a wonderful medium yet it can be very temperamental and challenging, however, with happy accidents often comes new and exciting ideas.
Tous Mag: Are you self-taught or were you taught under somebody?
Frida Cooper: I started a class about 3 years ago, that focused on hand building, at 7 spot pottery. From there, I became a member of the studio. I then went on to teach myself most of what I know on the wheel and have grown and expanded my knowledge further. Once I had the foundations of basic knowledge and skills, finding my own style and techniques came quite naturally as I’ve always studied the arts and been very practical when it comes to making.
Having a community of friends at the studio is so important to me. I’m very lucky to have some wonderful fellow ceramicists working alongside me, sharing the studio, as we learn together whilst sharing ideas and techniques.
Tous Mag: We love your speckled ceramics, could you tell us how you achieve this aesthetic?
Frida Cooper: Most of my work is hand built using a technique called slab building. Glazing is a whole world of experimenting, too, and not often my favourite part of making (I’m sure many other ceramicists will agree with me). Glazing can, often, make or ruin a piece so a lot of testing and experimenting is done to find glazes that work for me. Finding beauty in the natural forms is a strong element of my work, allowing me to use simple and minimal glazes to compliment this ethos. The speckled glaze is one of my favourites as it’s a glaze that comes out slightly different each time - every piece is unique - which is a quality I really enjoy.
Tous Mag: Do you sketch out your designs beforehand or do you like to explore the material in the moment without prior planning?
Frida Cooper: I do often draw out ideas initially but the true development and thought processes are created through making. Designs are sometime easier to establish when they’re in front of me as a 3D form.
Tous Mag: What do you think is the hardest challenge of working in your profession?
Frida Cooper: I think, at the moment, finding the right balance whilst working full-time is definitely a challenge. Ceramics is also not the cheapest of professions and having access to kilns or equipment isn’t always easy. It is a very rewarding medium once you’ve found a working order, though.
Clay can be extremely temperamental, too, but it’s a challenge that keeps me on my toes. I think people fall into habits by the convenience of buying mass produced products, this is obviously tough competition when it comes to price points, but I think we are slowly becoming more aware of the beauty in handcrafted items and appreciating the skill and hard work that goes into each piece. I was very fortunate to have parents that were creative and a father with a passion and love for ceramics, too. From a very early age most of our meals were prepared, eaten and enjoyed on handmade crockery. For me, things just seem to taste so much nicer on a plate that someone has put their heart into. This is a fundamental part of my thinking when it comes to my practice, I strive to create objects that are practical as well as functional and that will fit into people’s routine for everyday use. I create objects intended for the dinner table to be enjoyed by those with a love for eating, drinking and bringing people together.
Tous Mag: Are there any ceramic objects you'd like to have a go at making, in future, that you haven't yet explored?
Frida Cooper: I love to collaborate and working with others on projects is always exciting. I’d love to collaborate with someone in wood work to combine materials in the near future. I’d also love to have more time on the wheel and throw some larger pieces!
Tous Mag: What would you say is your biggest inspiration?
Frida Cooper: My inspiration comes from many different places and often my work develops though testing object functionalities over time. I draw inspiration from conversations with friends and thinking about how an object can fit into somebody’s daily life whilst being an item of enjoyment. Some of my favourite makers and artists are Barbara Hepworth, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper as well as contemporary artists such as Andrea Roman, Tracy Dixon, Abigail Ozora Simpson, FOREST + FOUND, Karina Smagulova and many more.
I find inspiration in simplicity and minimal design, I hope this is translated in my own work.
Tous Mag: Have you collaborated with any brands before? Or anything in the pipeline we should know about?
Frida Cooper: I have been extremely lucky to work on some really exciting independent projects along with having some really inspiring shops stock my work, such as: Form Lifestyle Store and The Ottowin Shop. Some of my favourite projects to work on have been: a candle collaboration with AOI Project, mugs for Trove Foods, candle holders for Erst, a range of pastel mugs for Blendsmiths and plates for Mother Espresso.
My most recent collaboration is an exciting one, too. I have been working alongside 3 very talented people - Joe Heartly, Meg Beamish and Mike Hodson - on a project at Platt Fields Market Garden allotment. We have been digging natural clay from the grounds of the allotment and will be running a set of workshops exploring how to process clay as well as teaching making techniques where we’ll make plant pots for the allotment. So, stay tuned!