The Star: July 11, 2024

The Star Thursday July 11 2024
18
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Market for ceramics booming
despite the bite of recession
Ceramic art is making
a big comeback in
Christchurch. Jenn Loh
reports
POTTERY IS having a revival,
and Christchurch’s ceramic arts
scene has never been more alive.
For many, such as Tegan Bray,
the artist behind business Tegan
Makes, pottery started out as
a creative outlet while raising
her young family. She never
imagined it would evolve into
becoming her own boss.
Bray had dabbled in different
forms of ceramics while
completing a fine arts degree at
Massey University, but it wasn’t
until the Covid-19 pandemic
that her distinctive style was
forged.
“The lockdown happened and
I was battling being hideously
under-prepared without a craft
project. So, I got some clay,
and just started tinkering from
home,” she said.
Tegan Makes’ signature use
of speckled clay came about
as a necessity due to material
shortages of white clay during
the pandemic, but has now
become a distinctive selling
point.
She hand-paints all the
designs, many of which are
inspired by her children.
Bray showcased her work
on social media and became
a stallholder at the biannual
Encraftment market in 2020.
Demand went through the roof.
“Suddenly, I was working
every evening in between my
infant daughter waking up and
feeding and I would work till
midnight every night.”
She was taken aback by
people’s willingness to buy
hand-made mugs when
commercially available ones
are cheaper, especially given
the financial pressures from the
rising cost of living.
STYLE: Tegan Bray has a love for all things colourful and fun, which she channels into her
ceramic creations from her home studio.
PHOTOS: JENN LOH
She attributes pottery’s
popularity to the so-called
“lipstick effect”, an economic
phenomenon where consumers
seek out small affordable
luxuries such as lipstick during
times of recession.
“I have a lot of comments from
people saying they love the ritual
of picking their favourite mug in
the morning, and getting excited
to drink from it and starting the
day that way.”
Penny de Jong, president of the
Canterbury Potters’ Association,
said there’s been a significant
increase in membership in the
association in recent years. She
said it is encouraging so many
young people are showing an
interest in the craft.
“Pottery’s having a resurgence
at the moment. Like all things,
its popularity is cyclical. It was
big in the 70s and 80s and we’re
seeing it pick back up again
now.”
CPA member Riley Fagan
creates ceramics as a hobby
alongside his job as a freelance
video editor, but would like to
eventually work with ceramics
full-time.
He initially thought he would
do this by selling his creations at
markets, but quickly discovered
his preferred style of work
was too intricate and timeconsuming
to sustainably be
sold at such a scale.
Fagan, a Canadian, was
living and travelling around
New Zealand in his van until
he found more permanent
residence in Christchurch after
enrolling in a pottery course.
He found the city to have an
excellent craft community
that was large enough to build
connections, but small enough
to still stand out in.
Several of Fagan’s Instagram
reels have gone viral on social
media, garnering more than two
million views between them.
He was surprised to find the
vast majority of views were from
international audiences, fuelling
his hope to showcase his work to
a global audience.
“There are people who travel
around exhibiting their work.
I hadn’t even really considered
that as a possibility, but maybe
one day,” Fagan said.
“I think I’m just going to keep
making (social media) videos for
now – the same type of stuff that
people seem to enjoy watching
and I enjoy making.”
POTTER:
Canada-born
ceramics artist
Riley Fagan and
some of his
creations.