UNDER THE APRON

Tyson Beckett finds that away from the wheel, Amanda Shanley’s closet is just as creative as her playful forms.

Originally from Waimana, near Whakatāne, potter Amanda Shanley now considers herself a “proud southerner”, having moved to Ōtepoti/Dunedin 25 years ago to complete a ceramics programme at Otago Polytechnic. In June 2022 Shanley further solidified her roots to the area, opening her eponymous shop just off The Octagon on Princes St. Housed in a refurbished two-storey commercial building from 1863, the space doubles as a studio and you’ll often find the ceramicist tucked in the back creating her wonderfully off kilter domesticware, often glazed in playful colours or with underglaze pencil scribbled on them. Invariably her pup Cotton will be by her side.

But even when she’s not working in the studio, visual markers of Shanley’s craft remain.

“If I am dressing up, I will stand up, take off my clay splattered apron, reapply my perfume and off I go. I have never agreed with the idea of clothes for work, clothes for best. I tend to become obsessed with a few outfits and wear and wear them until they disintegrate around me.”

I AM A MINIMALIST.

I have always had only about 15 pieces in my wardrobe. Clothes have to be able to withstand my ignoring clear washing instructions. I do not hand-wash.

EVERYONE SEEMS SO CONFIDENT WHEN THEY SHOP

but I have always found clothes shopping hard. The pieces I love are those which make practical look interesting, are soft and have exactly the right loose neckline.

I ONCE FOUND A SHOPPING LIST FROM MY ART SCHOOL DAYS

and my priorities have not changed, it was laid out in order of importance: latest layby at Plume, coffee beans, clay, dog food.

I WANT CLOTHES THAT MAKE ME FEEL UNINHIBITED,

invincible, and “getting down to business” all at once: gumboots, a hat, an apron, jeans, thoughtfully designed pieces, items from my sister’s wardrobe.

I HAVE DEVELOPED A UNIFORM THAT REFLECTS

an introvert who is not afraid to play with the way she presents herself to the world. The utilitarian and luxurious: my Horisaki hat from NG in Ōtautahi/ Christchurch (the best boutique in the world), my collection of striped Commes des Garçons long sleeve tops, rolled up jeans, shoes (always without socks even in the snow), never enough warm clothing for my mother’s liking, a dislike for heavy fabrics, an intuitive understanding of how this messy, elegant, boy-girl amalgamation blur together, to make me.

THE MORE I REFLECT UPON MY STYLE,

I realise that I had it all sussed out as an 8-year-old. My mother Bernadette has been very influential in the way I dress, she set me up with her good taste as a child. A soft worn turtleneck, mismatching coloured floral shorts, roman sandals. It is exactly what I am wearing today, I am just a more extreme version of that young self.

MY VITA COCHRAN OTTO BAG

is the most sentimental thing in your wardrobe. My sister commissioned one for herself, me and my daughter on her 13th birthday. They could be self portraits of the three of us: naughty, challenging, adorable, worthy of a second glance, like to be taken out for walks and to carry around lipstick.

A HEAVY, IN YOUR FACE, GOLD CHAIN NECKLACE

was my first “big” clothing purchase. A good piece of bling to celebrate my presence in the world after nearly leaving it way too soon.

Shanley has a collection of Comme de Garçons shirts. Shanley’s Horisaki hat is part of her uniform. Gumboots are part of Shanley’s “getting down to business outfit.”

Comme des Garçons fluoro zip purse, $210 Because I am a Capricorn and it is true what they say, we have ginormous handbags, which eat all contents. A fluoro wallet would be perfect.

Kārena Carran & Nichola Shanley commune robe, $1650 A collaboration between my sister Nichola Shanley and Bekah Carran.

A Henry Turner painting I would rather have this than any beauty items.

A gold necklace was Amanda Shanley’s first “big” clothing purchase.