WebAugSep17

24 | www.westendermagazine.com
artisan
Claire
Henry
WORDS
NICOLA MAULE
Quality studio pottery is undergoing
a renaissance. For the last few years
plates, mugs, bowls and all things
small batch and handmade are globally
trending as the accessory of the moment.
Stylized images in trendy magazines, artfully
arranged shelves and window displays give
ceramics prominence as must have objects
of cool.
It’s a welcome resurgence for Glasgow
based potter Claire Henry, ‘Since January
this year it’s been full on with commissions
which is great, restaurants and shops are
asking for bespoke, custom made pieces
and collections,’ she tells me. Where once
ceramics would predominantly be sold
through the gallery space, local shops are
looking at pottery as an obvious addition to
other items in store.
Chris Gallen, owner of Gray’s Deli in
Broomhill who introduced a range of
homeware by Claire in July of this year says,
‘Customers are always asking me where they
can buy locally made homeware and we’ve
been fans of Claire’s work for a long time.
It was the perfect fit when she agreed for us
to stock her range of ceramics.’
It makes sense, in an uncertain and fast,
technology based world people seek the
security of tradition, the old in the new.
That need to ground themselves and engage
with authenticity by looking backwards
and often inwards offers a counterbalance.
The hand-crafted ceramic is a route to the
simple and essential, consumers continue
to demand to know the baker who bakes
our bread, the farmer whose cows offer us
milk, the local garden and gardener from
where our salad leaves are freshly grown
and picked.
By extension there is a desire to hold the cup
made by the hand of the skilled potter, to eat