Wedgwood is all about bringing people together in style. The idea of coming together, catch up with friends and family over a cup of tea. Presented beautifully in a hand guild cup, with a selection of cakes to accompany. what could be nicer?
A University project where I created a concept in collaboration with Wedgwood.
Why a set of mugs? – overloaded by my computer screen, I headed to the coffee shop for a quick recharge. Sat there for a couple of minutes, when the atmosphere grabbed me. The smell of coffee beans, the miss matched decor and hum of chatter in the background. A sense of cosiness came over me, I fell in love with this feeling and decided I wanted my design to bring an essence of that cosy coffee shop culture, into the home.
Inspiration - My first inspiration came from sitting in a cosy, mismatched coffee shop, where nothing was too fancy just nice, so how do I bring that feeling into a brand built upon its fine China, meticulously handcrafted products and heritage? Instead of focusing on the actual style of Wedgwood, I homed in on its heritage. Stoke – on – Trent is my hometown and epicentre for ceramic production, started in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood. Inspired by stoke on Trent, I based my form and aesthetic around what I found from a time gone by to celebrate Wedgwood’s humble beginnings and represent coffee shop cosiness.
My focus was to create warmth and texture through my form and aesthetic. Bottle kiln inspired form, with a red brick terrace colour inspired stoneware clay. The stoneware is unglazed, creating a textured experience. To finish a swooping contemporary handle, large enough for two hands to be wrapped around, allowing the user to feel the warmth of the mug. With embossed circles at the base, helping to balance the piece, while providing added texture.
Packaging - sophisticated off black box, with a printed 'Lets Drink Coffee' graphic to represent artisan values, keeping the product grounded to its routes. Housing 4 mugs within black straw, inspired by the method josiah wedgwood used to distribute his wears (in barrels filled with straw.
