Behind the Design: Limited Edition Black Pottery

With pottery as the #1 trending shelf-styler and décor accent of 2021, we set out to create a collection that combines today’s trends with yesterday’s traditions. Our new Limited Edition Black Pottery Collection brings the thoughtful design of one Master Potter’s vision to life. Made by hand at his atelier in a small Hungarian town, each piece is initialed and numbered one out of 100. The exclusivity and delicacy of each piece is reflected through the generational techniques and local traditions used by the Master Potter.  

Traditional Black Pottery is a unique and rare form of pottery with rich history dating back 8,000 years. Our limited collection is created in a small agricultural town in northeast Hungary by a man running his 300-year-old family business. Black Pottery was a specialty of this town in the 1700s - 1800s but when other colors were popularized in the late 19^th century, this form of pottery disappeared. Since the resurgence of this ceramic style in the 1950s, only a handful of potters remain in Hungary that bring this rare form to life.

This limited ceramic collection is black due to the high level of red iron oxide in terracotta clay, which darkens when burned. In addition, the wood-fired furnace used to burn the clay is kept completely closed, leaving behind carbon and smoke to diffuse onto each piece. The ceramics are stacked on top of one another in the furnace causing the smoke to only reach the exposed areas of each piece. This leads to unique spotting on each vessel, further authenticating the hand of the artist. 

Every step in the creation of the pottery is completed by a single family-owned atelier, from mining the clay to burning the final products. The terracotta clay is mined by hand to ensure optimal quality and is then mixed with water and poured through a fine filter to remove unwanted debris. This clay dries for three months before it is cut into blocks to rest underground for several years. The clay is periodically turned and kneaded during this maturation process to remove air bubbles, which is critical for creating high-quality ceramics. Only after this process can the clay be sculpted on the potter’s wheel by our single Master Potter who initialed the bottom of each final piece in the collection.

In a world of mass production, this limited collection showcases artisanal and truly one-of-a-kind home accents. Each piece serves as the perfect shelf-styler, planter, vase, or table centerpiece. Once these limited edition items are gone, they're gone. Browse the limited edition collection here and proudly display 1 of 100 in your home.