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A special collaboration:
Crate and Barrel x Ceramication
About Ceramication
About the Founder
Rayn Leow began his journey into the world of ceramics while seeking an outlet for his creativity during his service in the army. He then joined his family’s construction business, where he picked up Computer-Aided Design (CAD), and additive manufacturing (3D printing). Intrigued by the possibilities of combining these skills and his science education in science with his passion for ceramics, Rayn embarked on a personal journey of self-fulfillment through ceramics.
Rayn believes that the key to realizing his artistic vision is in welding control over his medium. Calling on his experience in laboratory research, he conducted thousands of material tests to create a working system of complementary clay bodies and glazes over a span of four years.
His overwhelming love of ceramics eventually led him to leave the security of his family business to launch Ceramication, which was a terrifying but exhilarating leap of faith. Through Ceramication, he hopes to inspire others to choose their own path of happiness through self-discovery and liberation from living up to others’ expectations.
About the Collection
Handmade studio ceramics by Crate and Barrel in support of local boutique porcelain maker, Ceramication. Themed “Asian serving story”, the collection was created in conjunction with the festive season to allow customers to bring home unique locally crafted functional artware. Rayn Leow, founder of Ceramication, was given the freedom to execute his artistic vision in this collection, and finally collaborating with the Crate and Barrel team to curate a final line-up, featuring an on-trend colour palette.
The collection includes:
Four items of tableware from the Hex Series:
Hex Sake Cups
Hex Sake Pitcher
Hex Appetizer Plate (15cm)
Hex Serving Platter (38cm)
Two plant pots from the Dirty Series:
Dirty Girl with Base Dish
Dirty Boy with Base Dish
Two centrepieces:
The Lucie Vase
The Coper Vase
The Hex Series
The signature shape of Ceramication is the Hexagon. Due to its stability, this shape is often seen in nature. Honeycombs, molecules and crystals, each of these are formed using a pattern of perfectly placed Hexagons with zero distance in-between. This symbolises unity in diversity, a reflection of how unique individuals come together to form relationships, build families and community.
The Dirty Series
The Dirty series is designed specifically to showcase runny and drippy glazes to demonstrate how there is beauty in spontaneity, and how sometimes the most beautiful things start by getting your hands dirty.
Decorative Centrepieces
The Lucie Vase is inspired by the passion and resilience of Dame Lucie Rie, an Austria-born Jewish refugee who settled in Britain escaping the Nazis during WWII. She is plausibly the most influential studio potter of the century, elevating the craft into an artform. This vase is an ode to her, paying homage to Lucie’s iconic silhouette featuring a Ceramication twist.
The Coper Vase takes inspiration from Hans Coper, another influential potter who was born in Germany and fled to Britain during WWII, later serving as a conscientious objector in the British Non-Combatant Corps. A student and contemporary of Dame Lucie Rie, he later became a leader in the studio potter movement. Referencing one of his famous pottery forms featuring an upper vessel that tapers down to tiptoe on a pedestal, this vase is a tribute to his contribution to pottery and his peaceful conscience.
About the Process
The first translation from concept to digital information is aided by 3D modelling software, also known as computer aided design (CAD). This is followed by a second translation using additive manufacturing (3D printing), into a physical model. Employing technology in this phase enables the artist to achieve precision unavailable with manual construction. After the digital phase, the creation process reverts to traditional pottery-making techniques, such as mould-making, slipcasting and glazing.
To produce functional pieces, slipcasting is Ceramication’s chosen forming method as it allows for precision and consistency in quality, making it the industry standard for fine porcelain wares. Slip (liquefied clay) is poured into a plaster mould and allowed to set to a desired thickness, thereafter, the excess slip is poured out. What remains is now the object form, which is left to dry before it is removed and prepped for the next phase. In order to achieve specific product performance parameters, control over the formulation and material characteristics is vital, which makes liquid slip more suitable than commercial plastic clay bodies.
This also allows Ceramication to reduce its carbon footprint by firing the kiln at the lowest possible temperatures, while still achieving outstanding product integrity, such as material strength, and the highly sought-after porcelain translucence. Hold our Hex Sake Cups and Appetizer plate to see this!
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