Monday Muse
Monday Muse
Interview DB Ceramic Founder Deborah Brett
Interview
Deborah Brett
Photography
Ana Viana
Interview
Deborah Brett
Photography
Ana Viana
Over two decades, Deborah Brett rose to prominence in the fashion industry as the exacting fashion editor at publications including The Times, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. After the birth of her third child, Brett decided to forge a new and equally exciting path in ceramics, following a her longtime passion for art. She now makes her sculptural pieces, working in porcelain and stoneware, employing both handbuilding and throwing techniques, from her studio at home in London.
Brett also founded DB Ceramic, her eponymous and constantly evolving dinnerware line, with each piece designed by Brett then produced and handfinished at a family-run factory in Stoke-on-Trent, with local artisans trained to recreate Brett’s signature, special glazes. We caught up with the endlessly creative Brett to find out more about how she mastered a new skill mid-career, trusting your instincts – and of course, what she’s hoping to find in her Christmas stocking this year.
Brett also founded DB Ceramic, her eponymous and constantly evolving dinnerware line, with each piece designed by Brett then produced and handfinished at a family-run factory in Stoke-on-Trent, with local artisans trained to recreate Brett’s signature, special glazes. We caught up with the endlessly creative Brett to find out more about how she mastered a new skill mid-career, trusting your instincts – and of course, what she’s hoping to find in her Christmas stocking this year.
THE WICK: What does a typical Monday morning look like for you?
Deborah Brett: After an early morning school drop and a strength training session with my PT it’s down to meetings with my dbCeramic team. Monday is my office day. It’s where my team meet up, pour a long coffee and discuss everything that is happening that week.
TW: Your career has evolved from fashion editor to ceramicist, how did you make this transition?
CR: I’d been working as a fashion editor for over 20 years and had had my third child. I knew the industry back to front and wanted a new challenge. That idea dawned on me that my kids were learning new things every day but it felt id stopped. So I set about about trying out lots of different skills to see what resonated with me. And it was ceramics that I fell in love with.
TW: What’s the one lesson you’ve carried over from fashion to your ceramics work?
DB: I’m so surprised at how transferable my fashion skills are with my ceramics. An obvious one, is taking my styling experience and moving it into home wear. No reluctant models, but some testy table linen in stead. But it’s my eye for colour and pattern that really shines through. And trusting my eye, knowing when it feels right.
TW: Why do you think there is an increased interest in artisan craftsmanship – How do you see the role of handmade ceramics evolving?
DB: I think with so many mass market brands churning out more and more products, people are searching for uniqueness. Something that is bespoke, just for them. My ceramics are all hand made and glazed using my bubble technique where each piece is individually decorated blowing bubbles. It means every piece is a one off and allows for customers to build their own collection. You can feel the energy in them, and I think that’s what appeals, you can feel how alive the pieces are.
“My ceramics are all hand made and glazed using my bubble technique where each piece is individually decorated blowing bubbles.”
Deborah Brett
TW: If you could collaborate with any other artist or designer— alive or dead—who would it be and why?
DB: I think I would have collaborated with Gustav Klimt. His patterns and then the gold embellishment in his paintings would have transferred so beautifully onto ceramics.
TW: Your ceramics are an art form and usable – Do you find that interiors, like fashion, are an expression of identity?
DB: Definitely. Like fashion, interior style has become bolder and more unique. Colour and individuality is celebrated and through social media, people are becoming aware of all the different possibilities. They are being inspired to create fun and interesting tablescape and to see the dressing of their table as an extension of their own style.
TW: What is your favourite culturally curious spot in London?
DB: At Christmas it has to be the Gingerbread city. Im a keen baker and make a ‘Knusper Haus’ or German Gingerbread house every year. I love to take my kids and see what the city’s architects do with the same material and the imagination they have. Failing that, a walk round Postman’s Park near the Barbican shows you the heroism in every man.
TW: If you could have one artwork in your Christmas stocking this year, what would it be and why?
DB: It would be an Annie Morris totem sculpture. I love her balancing boulders. There is something so beautiful and precarious about them, reflecting the fragility of life
TW: What is the one piece of life advice you would pass on?
DB: Say yes and embrace the mayhem. It makes for a really fun and full life.
TW: Who is your ultimate Monday Muse and why?
DB: Definitely Martha Stewart. I love her creativity and her eye for beauty. She can turn her hand to anything.
