Style hero
Ceramicist Keith Brymer Jones is known for his simple but bold style and his emotional appearances as a judge on BBC Two’s The Great Pottery Throw Down
Keith Brymer Jones
Keith made his first piece of pottery at the age of 11, went on to make ceramics for Habitat, Heal’s and Laura Ashley, and is now best known for his iconic Word range of tableware. He lives in Margate, Kent, with his partner, Marj, and cat, Lucifer. My style is similar to my personality – simple but effective.
I like strong lines in terms of form and shape.
I’m heavily influenced by the Forties, Fifties and Sixties – when design was a little more innocent and less obsessive! My taste has changed a lot over the years. I’m increasingly drawn to iconic ‘design classic’ furniture and at the moment I’m liking dog toothpatterned fabric and colours like grey, yellow and green.
My design philosophy is pretty straightforward:
I like things to be simple yet stylish and pleasing to the eye, practical in the modern home and, above all, to make people happy. The ‘Love’ bucket mug is my most
What I’ve learned
“A sofa would always be the first thing I would buy for a new home. Why? One, you need somewhere to sit; two, it’s a great way of making a statement as to what you like, and three, I just like sofas!”
popular design. Let’s face it, ‘love’ is possibly the most powerful and important word in any language.
I live in a somewhat controversial building.
It’s an 18-storey brutalist block right on the seafront in Margate in Kent, and is very much a ‘love-itor-hate-it’ style of architecture.
All the flats have great sea views, as all the front rooms are wedge shaped, and I love seeing the sea every day. Sometimes, when we’re watching television, we can be completely distracted by a sunset to the point of turning the TV off and watching the sun instead. The painter JMW Turner once said the light is very special in Margate – and he was right!
I’ve not done much to the place since I moved in.
We’ve painted it white – I find white is a wonderful canvas on which to experiment with lighting and furniture. I have loads of art, though. I recently bought a piece from an incredible Whitstable-based artist called Ron Chadwick, as well as a portrait of Alfred Hitchcock.
In the past, I’ve been guilty of making some really silly DIY mistakes.
I once took a door off the hinges to cut a bit off the end because it was scraping on my tiled floor. It wasn’t until I went to put it back on the frame that I realised that I’d cut the wrong end off! I also tried rewiring a light only to find out that the entire wall was live. That was quite funny!
I love my work so much that I honestly find it hard to relax.
When I do, it usually involves sleeping in the sun after lots of food. I’m a creature of habit. I have six grey jackets, four pairs of black jeans, white shirts and I only wear red socks. That way I don’t even have to think about what to wear so I can always focus on what I’m making, instead.