JEWEL HERITAGE
Wishing to evoke a connection to her past, Yasmin Falahat turned to her parents’ g tree to nd inspiration for her unique jewel-toned ceramics
Light oods into the east London whitewashed workshop of Yasmin Falahat from an expansive window. An atmosphere of calm surrounds the old nunnery, and brightly coloured ceramic pomegranates and gs ll the shelves of the open-plan room.
This is artisan po er Yasmin Falahat’s idyllic studio space, which she rents through Bow Arts – a charity that provides opportunities for up-and-coming artists in London. ‘It’s great because they provide a ordable locations for artists, which can be really hard to nd,’ explains Yasmin. She pops headphones in to block out the roar of city life, and casts her mind back to her childhood, and the gs that fell from her parents’ tree…
Her fruit-shaped dishes, pla ers and bowls are made and glazed by hand in batches. The emerging ceramicist has to take her wares back and forth between her studio and another po ery to re them, as she does not yet have her own kiln. It’s a meticulous process but, with such ne detail and a highly desirable nish, Yasmin’s ceramics are worth the wait.
Practice makes perfect
It’s hard to believe that Yasmin a ended her rst and only ceramics course at Turning Earth in 2018. This is certainly not re ected in her polished and intricate work. She decided to
a end the four-week course for beginners, purely because she’d always wanted to try it. ‘I learned all the techniques I needed and fell in love with it.’ Yasmin has always been a creative individual and netuned her skills while studying textile design at the Chelsea College of Art & Design. Although she’d never thought about pursuing po ery as a career, she knew that she relished the process of making things by hand.
A er she’d tried a variety of creative jobs, including set design, she decided to rent her own studio. This allowed her to pursue and experiment with her own work. It was here that Yasmin began to explore the
‘The more I began to sketch, the more I realised food was the connection to my heritage.’
idea of pomegranates and gs as an art form and, not long a er, was introduced to the delicate cra of hand-building with clay. This was her entry point into ceramics – a serendipitous discovery. ‘I grew up with Turkish ceramics around the house, so that probably subconsciously in uenced my mind, as well.’
A rich history
‘I don’t speak the languages and I’m not aware of all of the traditions,’ says Yasmin of her Iranian and Turkish Cypriot heritage, ‘but food and art are the main connections.’ When she began to draw fruits from her parents’ g tree, it was the alien textures and the fascinating pa erns that drew her in. ‘The more I began to sketch these fruits, the more I realised food was the connection to my heritage. I wanted to explore that particular path and, doing it through ceramics, which has such a big history in my culture, was the perfect outlet.’
It’s this relationship with her roots that make Yasmin’s creations so personal: ‘People o en ask me, “Why don’t you make dragon fruits and papayas?” and, yes, they would probably look amazing, but it’s also not something I grew up with. They are not fruits that I can identify with,’ she explains.
Originally the ceramics were based on her own drawings. However, now that she has mastered the skill, the shapes, colours and processes ow naturally. Each seamless batch
of ceramics can take up to ve weeks to cra , and it all begins with a block of clay. ‘When I rst started, I used air-drying clay, but I quickly changed to ceramic instead. I didn’t like how air-dry clay would break easily – I realised that if I wanted to sell these pieces, it wasn’t going to be very suitable,’ explains Yasmin.
Cool, calm and collected
Though not a collector herself, thoughts of how her wares may be passed down are o en on her mind. ‘I de nitely think about the longevity of my pieces and how the larger fruit bowls in particular might stay in family homes for years and build their own narrative of what they mean to di erent people – I really love this idea.’ Yasmin’s creations have also caught the eye of the Observer
Food Monthly
magazine, which featured her enchanting bowls in its annual Christmas gi guide. ‘That was the rst time I’ve been recognised beyond my followers on social media,’ she says.
As well as continuing to develop her cra , Yasmin’s main priority is to continue to develop her business and learn more about this exciting and ever-growing industry. ‘I’d just love to experiment and collaborate more – oh, and get my own kiln!’ The young artisan is steadily making new pieces to upload to her Etsy shop. Make sure you get in quickly, though – her batches have been known to sell out in seven minutes!