Our Five-Year Journey to Finding the Clay Bodies That Truly Feel Like “Us”

A sculptural stoneware vessel with sinuous, layered edges and a deep metallic glaze that shifts with the light — a statement piece full of fluid movement.

When we first set up Village Ceramics & Crafts five years ago, we naïvely thought the hardest decisions would revolve around glaze colours and kiln schedules. Oh, how wrong we were. It turns out that choosing a clay body is a bit like choosing a house, a dog, or a pair of decent walking boots: you only really know what suits you after living with it, firing it, cracking it, cursing it, and finally falling in love with the right one.

Our clay journey has been long, messy, enthusiastic, slightly chaotic… and absolutely essential to becoming the sustainable studio we are today.

When Stoneware Was the Dream

Back in the early days, stoneware felt like the obvious choice. Everyone talks about it. Everyone uses it. It’s durable, it gives a pleasing heft to mugs and bowls, and the glazes come out rich and characterful. So, naturally, we jumped straight in.

For a while, it was great — the pieces were robust, and we loved the earthy, dependable feel. But as we found our rhythm in the studio and shaped our identity, something didn’t quite sit right. Stoneware demands high firing temperatures, and that means a lot of electricity. And for us, sustainability isn’t a marketing tagline; it’s genuinely how we want to live and work. The idea of firing at 1220–1280°C day after day just wasn’t aligning with our goal to run a greener studio powered largely by our solar panels.

We loved the craft, but the environmental footprint? Not so much.

The Porcelain Phase: Beauty With a Cost

Then came the porcelain era. Seduced by its delicacy, its translucent beauty, that soft buttery feel when trimming — it’s hard not to fall under porcelain’s spell. And we did, wholeheartedly.

Parian ware joined the party soon afterwards, offering that same creamy elegance with a self-glazing quality we adored. The pieces looked stunning — almost angelic — and when visitors picked them up, you could see the surprise and wonder on their faces.

But porcelain and Parian come with a price beyond what’s written on the bag. Like stoneware, they need high temperatures to mature properly. And when you’re running a solar-powered sustainable pottery, those firings start to feel increasingly out of place. We wanted our studio to feel grounded, warm, connected to the land around us — not constantly guzzling kilowatts.

Beautiful as porcelain was, it didn’t feel like “home.”

The Eureka Moment: Earthenware

A vibrant earthenware vase glazed in rich blue and green tones, its smooth rounded form capturing the gentle rhythm of the wheel.

Earthenware arrived gently, without fanfare, but instantly made sense. Lower firing temperatures, a friendlier energy footprint, and the ability to fire entirely on the solar panels on a clear day — suddenly everything aligned.

With earthenware, our studio felt more honest. More in tune with the way we work. Its character suited our functional ware — from mugs and plates to planters and serving dishes — and it played beautifully with the glazes we developed. The clay feels softer, warmer, more forgiving, and more… us.

The moment we realised we could run both bisque and glaze firings without feeling like we were powering half of Lincolnshire, we knew we’d found our everyday clay body.

Enter Raku: Clay With Soul

Obvara raku bowl, showcasing the dramatic contrast between its smoky fired surface and the soft, golden rim created by the traditional Obvara technique.

The final piece of the puzzle was raku clay — and honestly, we should have met it sooner. Raku has a personality all of its own: gritty, strong, enthusiastic, and up for anything. Perfect for the dramatic thermal shocks of raku firing.

The sustainability win sealed the deal. We bisque-fire our raku pieces to 1000°C — a temperature the solar panels handle beautifully — and then switch to the gas-fired raku kiln for the main event. Watching a glowing vessel emerge from the flames and smoulder into a smoky, unpredictable finish is one of those moments that never gets old.

Our raku vessels have become some of our most loved and recognisable pieces. No two ever match — each one carrying its own story of fire, smoke, and chance

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So Where Did We Land?

Five years, countless test tiles, a few hairline cracks, and more cups of tea than we can count… and we’ve found our clay home.

Stoneware taught us resilience.

Porcelain and Parian gave us beauty.

But earthenware and raku gave us identity.

Today, these are the two clay bodies at the heart of Village Ceramics & Crafts. They suit our sustainable ethos, they play well with our solar-powered firing routine, and they allow us to create the pieces that feel most true to our hands and our values.

And honestly? We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Every pot tells part of our journey — and we’d love to share that story with you.

Explore our complete range of here.