New Ceramics Collection at Bamford

Peckham based Olivia Fiddes is a wondrous ceramicist who has collaborated with Bamford to bring a mini capsule collection of homeware to the stores. We find out more about her practice and what inspires her.

Olivia Fiddes understands that there is a lot to be learnt from a craft’s heritage, even if her own work is produced with a forward-thinking attitude. It is a true mark of talent to be able to stay true to tradition whilst reinterpreting it for the times we are living in and the lifestyles we are leading — a balance which her new ceramic collection strikes just right.

“I take a lot of inspiration from handmade craft and folk artwork throughout history. I try to incorporate some of that magic and intrigue into contemporary ceramics,” she tells us. Made using hand-building techniques, Olivia has always been drawn to the tactile experience of working with clay. “I used to play with a simple flour, water and salt dough at the kitchen table when I was little, so I guess making things like that has always triggered my imagination.”

There is a charming aesthetic that comes with hand-worked pieces, leaving no doubt that it has been made with deliberate action and technique, like pinching, coiling and slab building. “It can give a natural and expressive quality to the pieces, enabling you to really see that they’re handmade. I like that you can really sculpt and form it with your hands — that there is a functional as well as sculptural quality to it.”