About Glorious Mud Ceramics
Glorious Mud Ceramics started life as a conversation with a potter friend about how we could turn our passion for clay into something more than just throwing a few pots in our studios. As fun as that was, it was never going to make us a proper living. Fast forward seven years and it has grown, and evolved into a small business making quirky ceramics, by hand, in the UK. Everything we do is designed by us, that means the actual mug, bowl or plate, not just the design on it. We aim to stay small, as having fun making things and a reasonable work/life balance is my main aim. So you won’t be seeing our products in every gift shop on the high street any times soon.
The common thread behind everything we make is “obsolete objects”. I love the idea that something that no longer has a use can become an idea for something new. The map product range started as an idea to combine my love of old maps with my love of ceramics, and after buying hundreds of old maps on Ebay and in boot sales and charity shops, we can make you a coaster, mug or cushion bespoke to anywhere in the country, and probably the world. The letter range is based around my late father’s typewriter, (as pictured on the packaging, and now cherished by my son). My father refused to give it up, and was still two finger typing long after we bought him his first computer. The card range started with a few rusty cookie cutters from the kitchen drawer pressed into left over scraps of clay. When I had a “proper” job, (marketing manager) in an office, I used to spend the endless meetings doodling little pen drawings in the margin of whatever paperwork I had in front of me. These became the foundation for all the dinosaurs, dogs, cats, wedding cakes and other decorations, not to mention the London range. If you look carefully, many of the colours are textured. This is because I have used old dresses, scarves and other textiles that were destined for the charity shop, to fill in the designs. They are scanned, resized in Photoshop and used instead of a solid colour. The dinosaurs are coloured with an old dress I wore to a wedding, and the knitting on the deer, staffies an a few other dogs is from a jumper my daughter bought on holiday in Amsterdam.
Most recently, on a visit to Stoke on Trent, I came across some very large bowls in a skip. These turned out to be kiln props, used once to support a fine bone china lampshade in the kiln, and then thrown away. Glazed and decorated with my London line drawings they make great serving bowls. More reclaimed items are now being added to the range, and I really love the idea of making something from what would otherwise have gone to waste. They are limited in number, and each one is unique, which adds to the appeal.