We used to only obsess over the latest catwalk looks but these days, we’re equally as likely to lust over interiors as we would new boots. So, it gives us great pleasure to bring your attention to Wattle & Pot, a new site selling the prettiest of handmade slipware ceramics imported from the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. The ceramic plates and bowls have been crafted using age-old techniques in the homes of the traditional potters. They can be bought as seen or made to order.

Wattle & Pot is the brainchild of Clemmie Broom who fell in love with Romania when she lived there, in a remote Saxon cottage, for five months last year. She was there supporting her husband who takes intrepid cyclists on pedal-powered holidays in the Saxon region of Transylvania through his company The Slow Cyclist.

‘I fell in love with the place and particularly with the amazing artisans still working as they always have done to produce beautiful homemade, handmade crafts and homeware,’ says Clemmie. ‘The ceramics you will find at Wattle & Pot are, I think, especially interesting. Produced in just one small town in the Valcea region of Romania, in the Carpathian Mountains, their UNESCO-recognised designs are made by a small collection of families that are keeping alive the traditional skills of their forebears. The pottery is made by hand by an energetic mother and daughter team. The potters wheel is turned using a manual foot wheel, the glaze is poured from a cow horn with a goose feather nib and the pottery is fired at the bottom of the garden in a wood-fired kiln that they take turns to stoke. It is truly a family affair and every piece tells the story of its journey to the table. It’s rustic, rough but charming and very authentic.’

clemmie-broom-wattle-pot

Meeting the mother and daughter team, and seeing how the cycling guests loved the pottery, inspired Clemmie to set up Wattle & Pot. It is early days but the internet is fast-tracking her to early sales. ‘Being able to build an online presence has been an essential first step in building the business - not only does social media provide access to clients that would otherwise be far more difficult to come by, but also website building sites such as Squarespace allow a small business like this to have a well designed, effective online presence very easily. The barrier to entry is now far lower than it would have been even five years ago. Thanks to online I can take Wattle & Pot direct to the consumer and to the trade, with very little financial investment.’
Plans for the future? ‘Well, to make a homeware empire of course!’ Says Clemmie. ‘There are so many wonderful artisans working in this part of the world and I would love to help bring their products to the UK market - watch this space!’

November 2017