SPOTLIGHT ON KC HOSSAK POTTERY
London-based potter Karin Hossack shares the story behind her brand
Discover the story behind the London-based brand
Karin Hossack first discovered her love of ceramics while studying at New York’s Pratt Institute in the 1980s. Fast forward to 2015 in a small studio in London’s Wandsworth and KC Hossack Pottery – specialising in decorative tableware in a palette of pastel shades – is born. ‘After graduating, I worked for a few years for various potters, before launching a small costume jewellery company with a friend, which we ran for five years. It was then that I met my husband and relocated to the UK,’ says Hossack.
It was her daughter, Izy – a food photographer and blogger – who reignited her interest in ceramics over a decade later. ‘Izy started taking photos of her food as a teenager. When she was 15, she asked me to make her some serveware that she could use to style her food. The local secondary school was offering ceramics classes, which I attended once a week to make pieces for her.’
After a stint at the Putney School of Art and Design, Hossack found a studio – the same space she uses today. Of those early years, she says: ‘My designs were very different. They were solely black and white, and I spent much of my time experimenting with clays and glazes.’
Her signature scalloped edging came a few years later, at the same time as Hossack introduced colour to her ceramics. ‘I initially stuck to a monochrome palette because I wasn’t happy with the colours achieved with stoneware glazes. The temperature that stoneware needs to be fired at can fade coloured glazes,’ she explains. ‘It took trial and error to get the shades of pink, yellow and blue I’m now known for to work. I look to the places you typically find colourful pottery, such as Spain, Portugal and Italy, for inspiration, but a lot of this pottery is made from earthenware, which chips easily. I wanted to combine the joy of colour with the durability of stoneware.’
As for her techniques, she says: ‘My work is all hand built. The small pots are pinched, but the bigger pieces go in to plaster moulds, which I make beforehand. It’s slower than throwing on a wheel, but you achieve a more unique look.’
And what about Hossack’s home? ‘When I moved here from New York, I missed that sense of being engulfed by colour, so I always include bright, happy hues at home. Designers Guild is my go-to for soft furnishings, tableware and bedding, but I also like to shop in independent boutiques and markets. I love visiting Columbia Road flower market where there’s a vintage homeware shop called Mason & Painter, and I check in at The
Edition 94 and Summerill & Bishop for inspiration when I get a chance. My favourite dressmaker is an Indian company called Injiri. Its ethos reflects my own: keep things basic but add a flourish of colour and hand-worked details.’