Stuart Carey

I’m Stuart, and I am a contemporary ceramics maker from Newcastle Upon Tyne, in the U.K. My education in clay started early, in all-too- rare school pottery classes under the guidance of my mentor and friend Glyn Thomas. I developed a passion for pottery from the age of 14. Following a strict educational school path, I completed qualifications in ceramics before moving to The Glasgow School of Art for my BA Hons followed by the Royal College of Art for my MA. This ten-year education gave me a skill set beyond my years, and it is my dedication to the material and quality of production that has seen my reputation go from strength to strength. Perhaps best known for my signature style of exquisitely thrown fine tableware, I have carved an international reputation. In 2015, I won two designer-of -the-year awards from Homes and Gardens and Elle Decoration magazines. My range has been stocked across the U.K. and overseas by companies such as Conran London and Paris. This caught the eye of American companies, leading to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop stocking my work and a collaboration with Calvin Klein on over 1,000 handthrown pieces. Due to the breadth of my training, I am also interested in external projects and produce high-end commission work for companies such as Pearson-Lloyd. I collaborate with artists and have produced work for or with many big names, including Howard Hodgkin and Peter Doig. My passion spills beyond clay, as I write regularly for magazines such as Ceramic Review and Crafts. My dedication to the regeneration of crafts informs all my public engagements, from teaching to lecturing at New Designers and Ceramic Art London. While engaging with education at Central St Martins and the Royal College of Art, I dedicate half my time to running and developing some of London’s most used pottery studios, where I impart my knowledge and oversee about 300 users a week. Alongside my friend and business partner, Ben Cooper, I created The Kiln Rooms ceramics studios in 2014. Growing year on year, we now boast three studios in Peckham, London, a now flourishing cultural hub for artists in the capital. As well as managing the studios, I also oversee their Professional Development Program, engaging early career potters with experienced master crafts people to develop their skills as well as their understanding of the marketplace and the broader context of their chosen medium. More recently, I have taken my wheel skills to the factory, collaborating with British high-street giant John Lewis on a production range that was launched nationwide in 2018. While for the first time I don’t have a literal hand in every piece, the range is cast from my thrown originals, capturing my style and the marks of my hands. In my writing, I give an insight into how I handle clay, from hand building to my beloved wheel, and on through glazing and decorating. I give tips, tricks, and recipes honed over the past 17 years, some “borrowed” from my master tutors, such as Emmanuel Cooper and Takeshi Yasuda, but most developed through my determination to achieve both elegance and efficiency in production. Visit my website here: www.stuartcarey.co.uk Here are some links to see more: Clay Talk - CAL 2017 https://vimeo.com/258788745 / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol62m2UU8X0&t=480s Design Heroes - Homes and Gardens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr40NYHxkoQ RCA Panel discussion https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BydZaoiAp3E-SkpObG94eFNIakk/view New Designers Panel discussion https://soundcloud.com/newdesigners/ceramic-review-presents-where-do-i-go-from-here-options-for-early-career-ceramists