A new addition to our handmade lighting, the Creamware Pendant

22nd April 2020

By Holly Bishop

You may have seen on our Instagram and our website that we have just launched something very exciting… The Creamware Pendant! Handcrafted by Claire Fowler in our ceramics studio at Cotes Mill, what a perfect addition this is to our classic lighting collection.

A big thank you to Helen, our Creative Director, for getting a few wonderful photos of the Creamware Pendants in our Loft Kitchen.

Claire has been at deVOL since the summer of 2016. She is always busy making different pieces, from pendants to kitchenware and tiles – all as perfect as the last. And her new Creamware Pendant is no different, it’s very special… Claire has even said it is one of her all-time favourite things she has ever made!!

Tim, deVOL’s Photographer, has got some really lovely shots too.

This pendant is cast using a smooth white earthenware clay and then hand-painted with a very glossy cream glaze. And it’s funny, because one of the main beautiful features of this pendant is actually usually considered a defect!! It’s called crazing and it means the shade has subtle and really lovely little lines running all over it in different directions. You can’t spot them at every angle, you have to get the pendant in the right light, but when you do, it’s very lovely to see.

Can you see the crazing? I love how you can only spot the little lines in certain lights and at particular angles.

Crazing happens when the glaze contracts more than the clay body during cooling, it’s cracking to relieve the pressure as it is stretched over the rigid clay. Claire has said it is such a fascinating process, she will unload plain cream shades and within a few days or so they are covered in fine lines. This crazing can start happening over a few hours of firing… and it can last weeks! You can hear it happening too! Claire would hear a  little ‘ping’ in the studio and know another crack was appearing on the shade. No pendant will ever craze in the same way, each one is totally unique and original, how cool is that.

Our Creamware Pendants are the perfect choice for this soft and simple kitchen at Cotes Mill.

I really love the look of this new light. It is similar in style to our beloved Crackle Pendant, the same moulds are used for both and quite a lot of the process is the same. To make the Creamware Pendant, Claire gets the clay to the perfect consistency, leaves it overnight and then sieves it twice to ensure it’s super smooth and ready to be used. The slip is then poured into the moulds and after around twenty minutes, it is drained and left to firm up.

A little behind the scene shot, Claire actually uses her Crackle Pendant moulds for these new pendants.

Once the clay has hardened, the shade is bisque fired at 1100 degrees celsius and following that, Claire applies the glaze with a hake brush, a beautifully soft bristled paint brush that is totally perfect for the job. Claire experimented with the glaze for a while, figuring out the perfect amount of layers. It turns out that three is the magic number! It leaves the shade with the loveliest, glossy cream colour and really  interesting crazing patterns. The shades are then loaded into the kiln and fired to 1050 degrees celsius.

The perfect glossy finish is achieved with three separate layers of glazing.

What a lovely pendant, the style is quite reminiscent of simple creamware crockery often found in traditional French farmhouses. It’s not over the top or fussy, it’s simple and well-made… but a little different too. It can be hard to find authentic lights for your home, ones with a classic, vintage feel, but this one is spot on. We don’t like things that are ‘too perfect’, we prefer things that have character and soul, and we always want to offer our customers something that they couldn’t find in any shop. 

You could easily mistake these as vintage French pendants, I love that.

Our Creamware Pendants are supplied with antiqued brass fittings and a dark brown twisted fabric flex cord, it’s the perfect match with the shiny, almost glass-like, shade. They are available in a large size, approximately 320mm in diameter, or small at approximately 230mm. 

Our Creamware Pendants are supplied with a dark rich brown flex cord and antiqued brass fittings.

Claire is our only ceramicist in the studio at the moment to ensure we are being as safe as possible at this strange time. With this in mind, our lead time is a little longer than usual, around eight to ten weeks plus delivery. But she is working hard to fulfil orders as quickly as possible so if you like the look of this lovely new pendant, or any of our other ceramic pieces, please do get in touch and Claire will get one made and we will get it sent out to you as soon as possible. 

 

– Our email address is enquiries@devolkitchens.co.uk, or usa.enquiries@devolkitchens.com if you are based in the US or Canada. We’d love to hear from you and are always happy to answer any questions you may have.

– Click here to take a look at all the lights our talented ceramics team make.

– You can keep up to date with Claire and all her latest projects on her Instagram page.

– Check out our Instagram for exciting news and beautiful projects.