The workshop
Thrown by hand, glazed twice
How kiln. makes the Dune Vase, one piece at a time, and why it takes longer than it has to.
Words by Lena Kraus · Photos by Jon Ash
Every Dune Vase begins as a lump of stoneware on our wheel in the hills. It is thrown, trimmed and left to rest, then glazed in two tones of sand that run into each other in the kiln, so no two are ever alike.
The workshop sits at the end of a gravel road, in a building that used to be a dairy. There is no sign on the door. Inside, it smells of wood oil and coffee, and the radio plays quietly while six people do one thing at a time, carefully.
Slow by design
Every piece is made in small batches. Materials are chosen by hand and left to rest before they are worked; parts are fitted, checked and fitted again. It is not the fastest way to make anything, and that is exactly the point.
We could make it faster. We just don’t want to.
kiln., founder
Look closely and you see the decisions: an edge rounded just enough to feel soft in the hand, a joint you can only find with your fingertips, a finish that will look better in ten years than it does today.
Built to stay
Fill it with a single branch or leave it empty on a sunny sill. It holds water, it holds light, and it holds up to everyday life.
When a piece leaves the workshop it carries a small card, signed by the person who finished it. It is a promise, really: that it was made to be used every day, and to be repaired rather than replaced.
