We sat down with Emily Rose Sinclair, the maker behind Studio ERS, to find out a little bit more about leaving a career in Project Management and starting her very own one-woman band of a business. Studio ERS is now available to shop, love and collect online and in store. 

KTS | Hi Emily, We’re so excited to have your work join our list of makers at the store. Can you start by telling us a little about you and your practice? What should our audience expect to see?

ERS | I’m so excited to be part of KTS, thank you for having me! I’m a mostly self-taught potter based in London. I have a degree in Fine Art from Newcastle University, although regrettably I barely touched clay for the 4 years I studied there. I spent a lot of time exploring different materials and making sculptural objects (one of which is still sitting in my parents driveway) so with hindsight ceramics was an obvious next step.

I started off at an evening class making terribly wonky and characterless pots on the wheel, but I was absolutely hooked and spent many working hours secretly watching pottery videos on youtube. I started working with slabs a few years ago and that’s when I really felt like my own style began to emerge - it started slowly and then it was like a floodgate opened and I couldn’t stop.

I like to make work linked to my other great loves in life: flowers and food, so you’ll find lots of vases, snack dishes, platters and pasta bowls.

KTS | Your work is a great mix of hand-built and wheel-thrown pieces. How do you bring both techniques together to create a cohesive body of work?

ERS | It took me a while to really think about my work as a cohesive body, I was too engrossed in the making process of individual pieces to really consider it. Plus, the reason I fell in love with handbuilding was because it offered the exact opposite process and quality to a wheel-thrown pot.

When it came down to looking at the work as more of a collection, and identifying my own style, it ended up just being small tweaks here and there. Adding a carved edge to the wheel-thrown items, or including some hand-painted fluidity to the angular slab-built vases. Now I really think about each new piece as I make it, and consider how it slots into the wider collection.

KTS | I personally love the hand drawn element featured throughout your work, what inspires this?

ERS | All my pots start with a drawing - I don’t always have a clear idea of what it is I want to make until I’ve sat down and drawn it. I think the hand-painted element pays homage to that process; where the pot began. It’s also a chance for me to slow down, an outline done in a hurry always smudges and looks awful so I either start or end my day with it because a clean table is essential.

KTS | Are there any standout pieces in your collection you think really showcase you and your practice?

ERS | The Outline Vase was the first piece I made where I felt like yes! I’m loving making this - it felt fun and playful, but it was also quite technical and I loved figuring out how to make it and improve it. I love The Aries Vase for the same reason. The Squiggle Spag Bowl is also a new firm favourite at the moment. It makes all my meals feel more joyful.

KTS | To date, you have been developing your ceramics practice alongside your full-time job and have just made the incredible leap to making full-time. Can you tell us a little bit about your previous life in project management and how it has influenced your now process?

ERS | I spent a decade working for a real mix of organisations, mainly in the third sector, and even though I never felt creatively fulfilled I did really enjoy some aspects of the job. I would spend hours on google analytics to evaluate how websites were performing, and I learnt a lot about making digital content accessible. Finance and spreadsheet skills were also essential, and all of that is incredibly helpful now that I’m self-employed. I still plan my work week in the same way I used to, and I like feeling organised where I can - ceramics is famous for being unpredictable and temperamental so there is an element of just relinquishing control and going with the flow.

KTS | What would you say have been the biggest hurdles to overcome since starting your one-woman band of a business?

ERS | There have been the obvious hurdles like cash flow and financial security, which has been truly terrifying at times. Confidence too, of course. I’m a massive overthinker, and there are occasional crisis moments where I flap about the studio feeling like a complete idiot, wondering what on earth I’m doing with my life. Plus figuring out how to have a life and do all of the other non-making tasks required to make a business work: customer service, building and maintaining a website, product photography, social media, finance, marketing. It’s a lot, and it’s easy to let it seep into your evening and weekends. But I’m pretty stubborn, which helps enormously!

KTS | Last year you appeared in the BBC programme, Make It at Market, where you were mentored by the great Florian Gadsby. What did you take away from your time with him and how has it helped develop your practice?

ERS | Filming that show, and subsequently watching it, was the most surreal experience. I never ever thought I would be someone who would actively choose to be on television, but I’m so glad I did. Florian was brilliant, I asked him hundreds of questions, and he kindly and patiently answered each one.

He was the person who challenged me to think about my work more cohesively, and he pushed me to improve the finish of my work. He was also just incredibly encouraging, which was the best and most valuable thing of all.

KTS | We would love to know whats next, how do you envision your work progressing further over coming years, especially now you have the time to dedicate to it? Are there any dream projects you would like to work on or people you would like to collaborate with?

ERS | I made a few collage pots last year that I’d like to explore again - it basically involves arranging and rolling lots of different clay bodies into big slabs. It’s time consuming but so enjoyable. I’m starting to think about developing my own set of glazes, which is daunting but something I know I’ll be happy to have eventually achieved and I’d also like to make a few more sculptural pieces. Sometimes worrying about the function and practicality of a pot means you miss out on some of the more fun and creative ideas. Saying that, I’d love to work with a florist to understand their idea of the perfect vase, and then make it.

KTS | Lastly, we love to give a little shout out to as many makers as possible. Are there any other ceramicists whose work you have your eye on?

ERS | I really love the work of Rachael Cocker. She paints beautiful plates and recently made some exquisite tiles with little nerikomi moths and butterflies. Across the pond I really admire Shane Gabier’s slab work. It feels so free and expressive.