ANGEL
Rotterdam – the Netherlands
Angels hubby is one of my fiancé’s best friends and my former colleague. We first met when they came to visit
in the first week after Mette was born to meet her. My first impression was ’she is so sweet and pretty’!
And still every time I see her (now almost every day since our kids go to the same school and she’s also my neighbour living
in the same street) I think the same. She has a great sense of style and eye for detail, in the way she dresses,
how she decorates their home and of course in the pretty ceramics she makes. A long time ago she gave us
the prettiest speckled clay plates and coffee cups and recently the coolest drinking bowl for our cats.
On my wishlist are the Palo Santo incense dish and the motherhood figurines. What she makes is delicate
and is covered in her personal style and now we finally got to do a collaboration with the her,
beautiful little dishes showing graphic details from the gemstone collection.
Also check out the Mamma Story we did with Angel and her two super cute boys.
When/how did you decide to start your webshop OHMYHOME?
When I sold my company in 2013 and moved from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. From that moment I really wanted to get out of the crazy competitive work environment and do things I really love at a slower pace. A year before I started OHMYHOME, I was helping Manfung (hubby) building his network of interior blogs, which is still growing and OHMYHOME is my own side business.
Before you had somebody else to make the ceramics by your wishes and ideas, why did you decide to make your own ceramics?
I always had this obsession with clay and really wanted to learn it myself, but I knew it would take a long time to master it. So, I decided to put my ideas on paper and I luckily found a great potter who wanted to take the commission and she made the first collection for OHMYHOME. In the meantime I took lots of courses over the years and learned so much about pottery, I decided to make my own ceramics for OHMYHOME.
Tell is us a bit about how you became a ceramist and what did you do to get where you are now?
In the years I took courses, I learned different pottery techniques but I instantly fell in love with handbuilding. Where wheel throwing is limited to symmetry pieces, the possibilities are endless with handbuilding. So everything I make, is rolled, cut and formed by me.
At this moment I don’t really consider myself as a professional ceramist/potter, because this is not my fulltime job. I just really LOVE to work with clay. It requires a lot of presence and it works very meditating to me. And at the end I am always so satisfied with all of my pieces, because I’ve put my full focus, love and creativity in it.
What is your ‘signature’ when it comes to your own ceramics? What is your favourite piece?
Actually I have lots of ideas and make different things, but from day one I have been working with raw speckled clay and still do. It’s my favorite kind of clay and it’s still coming back in ‘almost’ every piece.
If I have to name one favorite, it would be the ‘parenthood sculptures’ which displays my little family.
Recently you sold your beautiful ceramic pieces to a very nice museum, Voorlinden. Did you have any other nice assignments and what was your favourite so far.
I really felt flattered when Voorlinden wanted to sell my ceramics, how could I say no?!
But overall I love to do small assignments. Especially when it is a personal piece. My favorite was a birth plate for a new born.
Do you have any wishes for the future with your ceramics?
I hope I can still do this for a long time. Working from home, seeing my kids grow up and do the things I really enjoy and love. It’s not always easy, but this work life balance works perfect for me and my family.
In the future I would love to own a house with a crazy big garden looking over the nature and where I can built my own ceramic studio.
How was it to do a collaboration for Lennebelle?
I really love brands with a story, and Lennebelle is really close to my heart. It’s about motherhood and the magical connection between mother and child. Something I can really relate to. So saying ‘Yes’ to Lenneke was easy for me.
What’s the best advice you have gotten and what’s the best advice you can give considering your work?
Stay close to your heart and make what you love to make and not only what sells.
In collaboration with Lennebelle Jewely, Angel designed the dishes for the Gemstone Collection