Practice makes perfect goes the old adage. It’s actually not perfection that I’m striving for in my pottery, but rather functionality with a playful twist. To get to the point where I can confidently and consistently make plates that sit evenly on a table and stack neatly in a pile, I must practice, practice, practice. Once you have a good form, wonky rims and free flowing glazes only add character. It’s easier to embrace imperfections when something functions well, then they look deliberate, organic and charming. Imagine a structurally sound house with creaky floors. So this is my challenge right now –– to focus on better form, so that I can paint my pieces crudely, freely and imperfectly.

I discovered Laboratorio Paravicini today –– a Milano based ceramics house, that produces wafer thin porcelain plates adorned with safari animals, snakes, air balloons and vintage cars. My favourite collection is circus themed, with acrobats, tight-ropists and trapeze acts. It’s the perfect plate for a piece of cake. It’s the perfect plate for anything, really. The company is run by mother and daughter, Costanza Paravicini and Benedetta Medici. Do we not love those names?

I met a fellow colour lover the other day –– a sales guy at Home Hardware with a penchant for pink and turquoise and most colours in between. His name is Habib, he’s from Tangier, and he’s been mixing paint there for over 40 years. “I’m the best in the city,” he said, while preparing a gallon of cobalt blue for me. One of his favourite colours is marigold yellow. “Mine too,” I said. He showed me photos of his home –– dusty pink walls in the living room, a shade of red in the kitchen. The furnishings were all antique, re-upholstered in seafoams, peaches and clarets. You’d never think to find such style at your local hardware store….