Curious Squirrel Designs

My studio was freezing this morning. It took a little longer than usual for my hands to warm up! I love crisp Canberra winter mornings, but mug making is definitely a bit slower on days like these. ❄️☕

A little stack made as a housewarming gift for a dear friend recently.

They love all things monochrome, moody and beautifully understated, so these pieces felt like a natural fit. Soft curves and quiet tones that I hope become part of everyday rituals in their new home.

There’s something really special about creating pieces for someone you know.

Enjoy your Tuesday x

I first came up with this wrap vase design during the Covid lockdowns in Canberra, when the world suddenly felt very small and home became everything. I found myself constantly bringing in branches, leaves and cuttings from the garden to brighten the house and feel connected to something living and growing.

Strange now to think that time feels both so long ago and somehow still very close.

A handful of large serving bowls recently finished in what I’ve started calling my River Reed carving.

Growing up along the River Murray in South Australia, I spent countless hours watching my brothers and dad launch the boat past thick reeds along the riverbanks. I don’t think I realised until now how much those soft vertical shapes and quiet textures stayed with me!

These vases came out of my last firing and will be heading to markets over the coming months.

Busy filling the shelves and building up stock for the second half of the year ✨ I love seeing the studio slowly fill with pieces that started as little ideas and sketches ☺️

New design 🌿 Inspired by the stunning, dramatic Oxalis Triangularis, a plant I absolutely love. Those delicate, butterfly-like leaves and the quiet elegance of its flowers…just magic.

I may or may not be a full-blown plant hoarder at this point, but this one always stands out. There’s something about the way it moves, opens, closes, a little bit theatrical, a little bit romantic.

This piece is my small ode to that beauty 💚

Mornings are getting cooler, and I’m not upset about it.

Up early, coffee in hand, watching the cones drop while the studio still holds onto the kiln’s warmth.

There’s something really grounding about this quiet start to the day… even if I never quite sleep properly the night before!

I’ve always had a soft spot for spots, especially when they let that beautiful speckled clay shine through ❤️

Vases handbuilt using a simple pinch pot method. There’s something about this technique that always brings me back to the beginning.

The pinch pot method is a simple handbuilding pottery technique where you shape a ball of clay using just your fingers, pinching and turning it to form a hollow vessel. It’s often the first technique potters learn because it requires no tools or wheel, just hands and clay.

It was the very first way I learnt to shape clay all those years ago, and it still feels just as intuitive and grounding now. These days, I return to pinch pots only for small bud vases.

A few years ago I explored the form on a larger scale as part of a monochrome collection, and looking at these again has me wondering… maybe it’s time to revisit them?

Made this little bowl for myself on my birthday last year. Handbuilt and hand carved, carving has quietly become my favourite part of the whole process.

There’s something about slowing down, finding a rhythm, and letting the texture emerge one line at a time. For me, it’s where a piece starts to feel like it comes to life.

A small, simple piece, but one I’ll always keep.