Earlier this year, we were drawn to the muted tones and wobbly shapes of ceramicist Emma Louise Payne’s first homeware collection, London Plane, inspired by the towering plane trees which line the edges of London’s city parks. Delving into Emma’s work, we spotted some familiar forms…and a look back at our post on the Birch Hotel in Hertfordshire—winner of the Time’s Hotel of the Year 2020—revealed the ceramicist’s role in the project.
“Birch was one of my first large projects, and it’s still my biggest project to date,” Emma says. “The founders, Chris Penn and Chris King, and architects Red Deer knew they wanted a ceramicist involved in the project. The cofounder of Red Deer, Ciarán O’Brien, got in touch and we instantly hit it off. They loved the weird and wonderful items I’d brought to show them.”
Emma was duly commissioned to bring “a handmade touch” to each of Birch’s 140 rooms. “Originally I was going to move to Birch while it was being renovated and make all the items on site,” Emma recalls. “Sadly, health and safety got in the way of that. Nevertheless, I worked on the project solo for over a year and produced over 1,200 objects across the site.”
Just last week, Birch announced the closing of its two locations. To mark this news, we’re taking a last long look at Emma’s clever ceramic details all over:
1. Vases and vessels
2. Beer taps
3 + 4. Room numbers and all-purpose hooks
5. Valet stands
6. Bedside pendant lights
7. Room keys
“Ceramics is a slow process, and it’s amazing how often I get to forge ahead with ideas I have or shapes I’m working on personally for a commercial project,” Emma says. “The key rings that we made as part of the reception space behind the counter were derived from a shape I was working on for my mum, a Christmas bell. We continually used simple shapes with expressive glazes, and it’s the glazes that really shine throughout.”
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