My name is Elle and I run Speckled Grey. I am a ceramicist who studied and specialised in ceramics at Nottingham Trent University, graduating in 2014. Since then I have continued my making career, developing my collections of artisan lighting and objects and learning all the time. I worked in the the ceramics industry as a delftware painter in Oxfordshire for several years where I was able to support my understanding of materials and techniques. I now live in Leicester, where I am focusing on my own making adventures.
I love to make, hand crafting helps to understand what can evolve through the rhythmic process of making, drying and firing a piece. I am motivated by interior design for public spaces and am also intrigued by what items people choose to treasure in their homes. My venture is to create objects which cross all of these boundaries.
I am inspired by simple materials and textures, and I am drawn to minimal, clean lines and beautifully finished surfaces. Tiny discrepancies in an object tell a tale of it’s maker and how it came to be the way it is. Initial ideas for my collections were drawn from found rocks and pebbles which are perfectly tactile and eroded from years under the sea. The smooth, polished textures and soft facets were irresistible and these small characteristics have underpinned the designs and processes used in my ceramics. I make with Parian, which is a beautifully soft and tactile clay with a marble-like, translucent finish. My process consists of casting in layers, sanding and polishing the surface instead of glazing. I am engaged by the soft, matte finish this provides and how it echoes the natural stone surfaces I began with.
If you have a project in mind, or would like to enquire about any of our products, please get in touch and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Elle x
