It’s not every day a world famous designer invites you into their studio to give you a tour, let alone create a one-of-a-kind piece of art in real time. But that’s exactly what Manchester-born former fashion designer turned ceramicist Henry Holland did ahead of the launch of his first breakfast ceramics collection.
Opening the doors to his sun-kissed ceramics studio, Holland likened the space to the ‘Hackney Riviera’, and it's not hard to see why. ‘I found this amazing open-plan space, just by chance, when I was looking for a new studio,’ he tells ELLE UK during his My Style, My Space video.
With his team of seven ceramicists, Holland creates pottery using an ancient Japanese technique called Nerikomi. ‘We wedge together different coloured clays and then we glaze everything with a clear glaze,’ he explains, picking up some of his famous designs striped in terracotta, blue and cream hues. 'I was trying to create something that felt bold and graphic and colourful in a way that I was used to achieving through digital print.'
Read Next
Last year, Holland announced that his House of Holland (HoH) fashion brand had gone into administration amid the global Covid-19 pandemic. The designer founded HoH in 2006, rising to fame as a 23-year-old with his housemate model Agyness Deyn and the launch of his cheeky slogan T-shirts, emblazoned with phrases like ‘Get Your Freak On Giles Deacon’ and ‘Cause Me Pain Hedi Slimane’.
Before the pandemic, Holland admits he was trying to figure out the next step in his career and began taking ceramic lessons in the evening as a ‘creative outlet’. ‘It was to give my creative brain something to do,’ he says, adding: ‘When the pandemic intensified I started making things in the kitchen.’
The hobby soon turned into Henry Holland Studio – a made-to-order ceramics and homeware brand that creates everything from vases and bowls to platters and mugs. The quirky pieces are now stocked in Soho Home, Liberty and on the Henry Holland Studio website.
‘What inspires me most is people. I just make things that I love, and for certain people [who] I think are just going to really treasure the pieces,' he says.
Walking around his studio, which is lined along the walls with ceramics which have been dried, sanded and glazed, Holland points out the studio’s two kilns: Janice and Stan. ‘We talk to them like people, they're very important,’ he says.
As for the inspiration behind his multicoloured vases, Holland explains how their names came about. 'I was working so much in the studio in the evenings that my husband thought I was having an affair,’ he reveals. ‘So I named all of the vases after very famous affairs,’ he adds, pointing out the Profumo (inspired by the 1960s political scandal) and Tudor (from Henry VIII’s numerous love affairs). ‘This particular vase is named after my childhood home -figure that one out,’ he jokes, picking up one tall design.
Near the end of the video, Holland shows us how he creates one of his bowls using slabs of clay and numerous tools. ‘They're fun, they're playful, they're bold,’ he says of his designs, all stamped with the covetable Henry Holland Studio logo on the bottom.
From fashion to homeware, it's clear whatever Holland chooses to create he certainly has the Midas touch.
Watch Henry Holland's My Style My Space video at the top of this article.
It's Scented Candle Season, And These Are The Very Best
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
