The autumn batch is in the shop · Free shipping on orders over $120

FormaCeramics

Batch No. 14 · out of the kiln

Made slowly.
Used daily.

Cups, bowls and vessels, thrown one at a time in a two-wheel studio on Kiln Lane. Around forty pieces leave each firing, a little irregular and entirely yours.

Shop the autumn batch Book a wheel class
Fired to
Cone 6 stoneware
Glazes
Lead-free, mixed here
Shop open
Thu – Sun, 11 – 5
An ivory stoneware pouring jug and a low celadon bowl on a plaster plinth against a cobalt wall Pouring jug, chalk $96 Serving bowl $86
Out of the kiln, autumn batchChalk · Celadon

01 The shop

The autumn batch

Each piece is thrown, trimmed and glazed by hand, so yours will differ a little from its neighbours: a thumbprint, a softer rim, a glaze that settled its own way.

Showing all 12 pieces

  • Most loved

    Everyday cup

    $34

    Straight-sided with a softly rolled lip. The one you reach for without looking.

    h 9 cm · 280 ml · 9 in this batch

    Glaze Oat speckle

  • Morning mug

    $42

    A pulled handle with room for three fingers, and a belly made for the first coffee.

    h 10 cm · 360 ml · 7 in this batch

    Glaze Oat speckle

  • Espresso pair

    $48

    Two small, heavy-bottomed cups that keep a short coffee warm to the last sip.

    h 6 cm · 90 ml · set of two · 4 sets

    Glaze Tenmoku

  • Low serving bowl

    $86

    Wide and shallow, for salad, fruit or nothing at all. The glaze pools green in the well.

    ⌀ 28 cm · h 8 cm · 3 in this batch

    Glaze Celadon

  • Breakfast bowl

    $38

    Deep enough for porridge, soup or a heap of berries, and easy to cradle.

    ⌀ 15 cm · 500 ml · 12 in this batch

    Glaze Oat speckle

  • Dinner plate

    $46

    A low rim that catches sauce, and a matte surface that makes food look its best.

    ⌀ 27 cm · 10 in this batch

    Glaze Chalk

  • Side plate

    $32

    For toast, cake or the bits and pieces of a long lunch.

    ⌀ 20 cm · 8 in this batch

    Glaze Celadon
  • New form

    Bud vase

    $28

    One stem, one branch, one sprig of something from the walk home.

    h 11 cm · 6 in this batch

    Glaze Shino
  • 2 left

    Tall bottle

    $120

    Thrown in two parts and joined at the shoulder. Holds dried grasses beautifully.

    h 30 cm · 2 left

    Glaze Celadon

  • Lidded jar

    $78

    A gallery lid that sits snug and quiet. For salt, sugar or the good tea.

    h 14 cm · 700 ml · 5 in this batch

    Glaze Oat speckle

  • Pouring jug

    $96

    A pulled spout that pours clean and stops without a drip. Water, milk, flowers.

    h 18 cm · 1 litre · 4 in this batch

    Glaze Chalk
  • Second

    Seconds mug

    $24

    A small glaze crawl or a wobble in the rim. Every bit as good to drink from.

    h 10 cm · 360 ml · 6 seconds

    Glaze Shino

02 The glaze library

Six glazes, mixed by hand

Every glaze here starts as a bucket of powdered rock and ash, weighed out in the back room. These are the test tiles we fire with each batch to check they’re behaving.

  • Oat speckle

    A warm, creamy satin with iron flecks that rise through it in the firing.

  • Celadon

    A pale, glassy green that pools deeper wherever the pot curves inward.

  • Tenmoku

    Near-black iron glaze that breaks to rust on every rim and edge.

  • Ash blue

    A soft, cloudy blue-grey, made with wood ash from the studio stove.

  • Shino

    Thick and warm, blushing orange where it runs thin, with the odd carbon freckle.

  • Chalk

    A quiet matte white with a faint grain, like paper you want to touch.

03 Wheel classes

Sit at the wheel. Get muddy.

Small classes of up to six, in the same studio where the shop’s pots are made. Aprons, clay, glazes and firing are all included. You just bring your hands.

  • No experience needed
  • Pieces glazed and fired for you
  • Ready to collect in three weeks

Book a class

1 Choose a class
2 Pick a session
3 Your details
People
1
Up to 4 per booking

  • “I came for a birthday and stayed for the six-week course. My mug is wonky and I use it every single morning.”

    Visitors’ book · March

  • “Theo has the patience of a saint. Centring finally clicked in week three, and I actually shouted.”

    Visitors’ book · May

  • “The calmest two hours I’ve had all year. Muddy to the elbows, completely happy.”

    Visitors’ book · August

04 The maker’s process

Fourteen days, six pairs of hands

Well, one pair, six times over. Every piece in the shop goes through the same slow steps, and almost all of them happen at the bench by the window.

Day 1 · ten minutes

Waking the clay up

Clay arrives in 10 kg bags from a small pit in the next valley. Before anything else it is wedged on the canvas bench, pushed and rolled in a ram’s-head spiral until the air is out and the whole lump is one even softness.

A pocket of air can crack a pot in the kiln. Two minutes of wedging saves two weeks of work.

— The maker

“I want them to disappear into your day.”

Hanne Lowe opened Forma in an old print shop on Kiln Lane in 2017, with one wheel, a secondhand kiln and a firm idea that everyday things should be made carefully. Theo Okafor joined in 2021 to teach, and now runs the classes and most of the glaze kitchen.

They make in small runs, keep the forms simple and let the clay and the kiln do the rest. Nothing is cast, nothing is outsourced, and every pot is signed with a small stamped F on the foot.

Hanne & Theo

05 Studio journal

Notes from the bench

Short pieces about glazes, firings and the small decisions behind each batch, written when the kiln is cooling and there’s nothing else to do.

Glaze notesSeptember 2026

Seventy test tiles and one celadon

It took the whole summer to find this season’s green. Here’s what the other sixty-nine taught us.

In the studioAugust 2026

Thursday is kiln day

Why we open the kiln on the same morning every three weeks, and why we don’t let anyone touch it before ten.

MakingJuly 2026

In praise of the bare foot

Turn any of our pots over and you’ll find the clay itself, rough and warm. That’s on purpose.

06 Care notes

Use it every day. That’s the point.

Stoneware is tough. A few small habits keep it looking the way it did on the shelf.

  • Dishwasher

    Yes. Every piece is fired to stoneware hardness and goes in the top rack quite happily. Hand-washing keeps the satin glazes soft for longer.

  • Microwave

    Yes. We never use metallic lustres, so nothing will spark. The bare foot can get warmer than the glaze, so lift by the rim.

  • Oven

    Warm, not shocked. Our bowls and plates are fine in an oven up to 200 °C if they go in cold and come out onto a cloth, never a wet counter.

  • Stains on the foot

    The bare foot can pick up coffee or beetroot. A paste of baking soda and a soft brush lifts it, and the clay will darken a little with age anyway.

  • Stacking

    Stack plates and bowls with a napkin or paper between them if you like them pristine. Raw feet can mark glossy glazes over time.

  • Chips and mending

    Chip something in the first year and we’ll mend it with a gold-coloured lacquer seam, free. After that, it’s $15 and a good story.

07 Questions

Asked at the counter

Something else on your mind? Call the studio on (555) 014-7720, Thursday to Sunday.

How often is there new work in the shop?

Every kiln opening, roughly every three weeks. The kiln letter goes out the Saturday after, an hour before the batch goes on sale, and the studio shelves are restocked the same morning.

Do you ship, and what if something breaks?

We ship anywhere in the country, wrapped in recycled paper and boxed with corrugated card, never plastic. Shipping is a flat $9 and free on orders over $120. If anything arrives broken, send us a picture within a week and we’ll replace it or refund it.

What is a second?

A piece with a small flaw from the kiln: a glaze crawl, a pinhole, a slightly wobbly rim. They are just as safe and sturdy as firsts, and sold for less. We mark them clearly, and each listing says what the flaw is.

Can I order a matching set or a commission?

Yes, for sets of eight pieces or more. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll send a sketch, a test tile in your glaze and a price. Commissions take eight to ten weeks, because they go through two full firings.

I’ve never touched clay. Is First clay for me?

It’s made for you. Most people in a First clay class have never sat at a wheel, and everyone leaves with a cylinder or two. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting muddy, and short nails help.

What if I need to move a class?

Move or cancel up to 72 hours before and it costs nothing. Inside 72 hours we’ll try to fill your seat; if we do, you get a full refund or a credit. Course sessions you miss can be made up on the Saturday open wheel.

Is the studio accessible?

The shop and classroom are step-free from Kiln Lane, with a wide door and an accessible bathroom. One of our wheels is set up for seated use with a lower tray. Call ahead and we’ll have it ready.

Do you sell gift cards?

Yes, in any amount from $25, for the shop or for classes. They come as a hand-stamped card in the post or as an email the same day, and they don’t expire.

08 Visit the studio

Come and pick yours up

The shop is the front room of the studio, so you’ll usually find someone at the wheel behind the counter. Lift things, turn them over, take your time.

Studio & shop

22 Kiln Lane
Larkhollow
(555) 014-7720
studio@forma-ceramics.example

Opening hours

  • Thursday – Saturday11 am – 6 pm
  • Sunday11 am – 4 pm
  • Monday – WednesdayAt the wheel

The kiln letter

One email per kiln opening, an hour before the batch goes on sale. Nothing else.

Your bag

Free shipping on orders over $120.

Your bag is empty, like a bowl fresh from the kiln.
Sample site · See our work