Story at a glance:
- Designer Mark Warren makes each piece in the Cloudware collection so that no two are alike.
- Cloudware’s design was inspired by the clouds on a summer day.
- In 2018 the company’s glaze firing output equaled the carbon footprint of one US household.
In design we love clouds. We wish to steal their lightness and freedom and appreciate them for their wistful elegance. Cloudware, a recent ceramic collection by Mark Warren, evokes calm with its inviting, whimsical designs.
Inspired by the North Carolina sky on a summer day as well as Wedgwood Jasperware, Cloudware is finished with a blue and white glaze, perfect for sprucing up any sustainable kitchen design and bringing much-needed lightness to homes, especially during those darker months.
Courtesy of Haand
Handcrafted porcelain bowls, plates, mugs, and cups are the name of the game at Haand design and this series is no different. Warren is dedicated to his products, which are beautiful and functional but also made with a sustainable vision.
“We believe that a well-made object that will last you a lifetime (or many) is a great investment and always beats out buying something cheaper that you have to replace multiple times. We are always looking to reduce our carbon footprint and invest in high-efficiency kilns. For example, our entire glaze firing output from 2018 equaled the footprint of 1 average US household,” he says.
Design Details
1. Glaze
Courtesy of Haand
Cloudware is finished with a blue and white marbleized glaze. All pieces made by Haand are glazed with harmless chemicals that are free of VOCs. The glazing process is one that also manages to conserve by having a very low failure rate. Excess glaze is captured in a glaze barrel and reused.
2. No Waste
Cloudware ceramics collection. Courtesy of Haand
Clay is also recycled at Haand. About 20% of each final piece contains scraps. “We invest in training and retaining our employees so their craft is such that they make few mistakes. If any piece does not pass initial QC, its material can be reconstituted into clay and be reused (basically infinitely) until it gets fired in its first firing. The scraps are put in a barrel and remixed every day and then can be added to the communal slip the very next day,” Warren says.
3. Durability
Courtesy of Haand
At Haand, quality is a top concern. Materials and chemicals are not only chosen to have minimal effects on the environment but are chosen and crafted to last. “It (Cloudware) is produced by hand in our studio with an eye on low-waste processes, but it is also built to last forever, what is more sustainable than passing down mugs to the next generation?”
