Last year marked the launch of Simple Shape; a new e-commerce site celebrating British and Irish designer-makers. One year on, founder Helen Osgerby is taking the next step in making Simple Shape a platform for unique craft with the launch of its first design collaboration, with an up-and-coming ceramicist.
Keeping in line with Simple Shape's existing minimalist design aesthetic, they have invited potter Jono Smart to create tableware collection ‘Centre’. Together with input from Osgerby, the Berkshire-based designer has conceived a selection of wheel-thrown crockery including bowls, jugs and egg-cups (a tribute to the forthcoming Easter holiday) in chalky hues of milky coffee and darker chocolate.
‘I want to make things that are allowed to change over time,’ explains Smart. ‘I want the pieces I make to have character: to age, to feel human, not too precise, pristine or mechanical.’
Smart originally set out as a garden designer before finding himself inspired to start making pottery just a year ago. His creative process – wheel-thrown and fired organic clay – creates delicately raw silhouettes that naturally differ from one another. The stackable, stark collection is multipurpose; for example the jugs can also be used as vases.
'Centre' is a special, personable collection. Osgerby describes the results as ‘utility pieces with a raw beauty that carry the marks and traces of Jono’s hands’. When asked if this is the first of many exclusive collections to come, she is positive. 'Working in a relaxed, collaborative way with the best of the UK’s designers is certainly something Simple Shape would like to do more of,’ she muses. Watch this space.
Entitled ’Centre’, the collection of wheel-thrown crockery includes bowls, jugs and egg-cups in chalky hues of milky coffee and darker chocolate
The earthy range keeps will in line with Simple Shape’s existing minimalist design aesthetic
Smart’s creative process – in wheel-thrown and fired organic clay – creates delicately raw silhouettes that naturally differ from one another
Simple Shape was launched last year by Helen Osgerby as a platform for British and Irish designer-makers
‘Working in a relaxed, collaborative way with the best of the UK’s designers is certainly something Simple Shape would like to do more of,’ Osgerby muses
INFORMATION
’Centre’ from £18. For more information, visit the Simple Shapes website
Photography: Yeshen Venema
-
Fendi celebrates 100 years with all-out runway show at its new Milan HQIn the wake of Kim Jones’ departure, Silvia Venturini Fendi took the reins for a special co-ed A/W 2025 collection marking the house’s centenary, unveiling it as the first act of celebrations within Fendi’s expansive new headquarters in Milan
-
‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern: 1980s alt-glamour, club culture and rebellionThe new Leigh Bowery exhibition in London is a dazzling, sequin-drenched look back at the 1980s, through the life of one of its brightest stars
-
Inside the unexpected collaboration between Marni’s Francesco Risso and artists Slawn and SoldierNew exhibition ‘The Pink Sun’ will take place at Francesco Risso’s palazzo in Milan in collaboration with Saatchi Yates, opening after the Marni show today, 26 February
-
'What Makes a Space Nigerian?' is an exhibition celebrating the key elements of West African Homes‘Our aim was to create a space that Nigerians could connect with', says Moyo Adebayo's on his latest exhibition 'What Makes a Space Nigerian?' which explores what defines a Nigerian home
-
Feldspar makes its mark on Whitehall with a festive pop-up at Corinthia HotelDevon-based bone china brand Feldspar makes its first foray into shopkeeping with a pop-up at London’s Corinthia Hotel. Ali Morris speaks with the founders and peeks inside
-
One to Watch: EJM Studio’s stool is inspired by the humble church pewEJM Studio’s ‘Pew’ stool reimagines the traditional British church seating with a modern, eco-conscious twist
-
One to Watch: Family Project’s ‘furniture friends’ are elegant and humorous with lasting emotional valueFamily Project, founded by Francesco Paini, is a London-based design practice drawn to human connection, creating portraiture through furniture and injecting artful expressions into interior spaces
-
‘There are hidden things out there, we just need to look’: Studiomama's stone animals have quirky charmStudiomama founder's Nina Tolstrup and Jack Mama sieve the sands of Kent hunting down playful animal shaped stones for their latest collection
-
‘Natural gold’ straw weaving by Hanny Newton wins the inaugural QEST Sanderson rising star award'I have been passionate and driven to champion straw embroidery as an exquisite, sustainable “natural gold”’: rising star Hanny Newton on winning the inaugural award
-
First look: Western Mongolia meets Kew Gardens in John Pawson and Oyuna Tserendorj’s cashmere throwsArchitectural designer John Pawson and cashmere designer Oyuna Tserendor have collaborated on a cashmere throw collection inspired by Pawson’s 70m Lake Crossing in the Royal Botanical Gardens
-
British furniture brand Pinch celebrates 20 years of design excellenceUK-based furniture and lighting label Pinch marks two decades in the business with an impressive anniversary collection and a pop-up showroom in New York’s Tribeca
