This month we ventured out to east London and meet Ana Kerin, Founder of Kana London to witness her beautifully intricate and carefully curated ceramics. In her wonderfully light-filled and aesthetic studio we learnt about Ana's inspirations and life as a creative living and working in London.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business?
I am an artist, sculptor, ceramicist and founder of Kana London. I have founded Kana London as a result of my training in Fine Arts - sculpture.
Where did your passion for ceramics and sculpting come from?
I feel I have been strongly influenced by my mother and her artist friends. My mum has told me that I have been on a mission and I have always known I want to be an artist. I see my work as functional living sculptures. I see the beauty in that tangible space between the functional objects, design and art. And in life they live with us. It's all in the perception of how my ceramics are viewed, you can see them as solely functional objects or as a functional sculpture. I have always been passionate about food. The rituals around food, the rituals around cooking. The stories around recipes. I feel with my ceramics those worlds have merged.
Where do you draw inspiration from when creating new products?
I love the thin line when art meets functionality. And comfort. My work its inspired by every day life. The rituals that we all love so much. Drinking your cup of coffee in the morning, pasta on the sofa when you need a comfy evening in. I love creating objects for making your rituals even more special. And more sacred. I am inspired by people. Inspired by different cultures and how they live and influence one another.
How would you describe your work?
Haha! Not with my own words. One of my clients from Netherlands once said something incredibly beautiful about my work. It really resonates with me and how I feel about it. I am incredibly grateful for people to see and feel my work so brutally honestly and see it purely for what it is. Here are two quotes from him: "Sometimes I felt your work was about how little you could do or how much you could take away from an object while retaining its function, a stripping away that which was not needed or became decoration." "I think if you made music it would be improvisational jazz, how to remove all the pillars of support and still create something significant and alive to the senses. We use plates every day, but how to hold that sense of something as ever-new and to nourish our senses and make us feel enriched?"
What do you like most about working with clay?
Clay demands working on its own time. It slows you down. It teaches you to forgive. It teaches you patience. It teaches you to be hard and to be soft at the same time. Clay is like dinosaurs of our time, in the time of living a science fiction reality. It's completely surreal how working with clay is essentially mastering four basic elements: soil, water, air and fire. It couldn't be more primitive and basic than this. And that feels a bit like being rebellious and that's quite sexy.
What is it like to be an artist living and working in London?
There are pros and cons. I love it. I believe I wouldn't be able to do what I do if I wasn't in London. London is a perfect most fertile, fruitful place of opportunity and most importantly likeminded creative and hungry, inspiring souls that feed one another. Negative side. It just is what it is. No point in moaning about how expensive it is. I feel it's all worth the price as long it has a value for you. When your priorities change, the price won't make sense any longer. This city gives you as much as you give to it. It's just life really.
What do you enjoy most about the workshops you run?
I love the exchange of energy. I learn and get inspired by my students.
Can you walk us through a day in your life?
Haha! There is not one the same. But days are long. Usually working from 9am - till after midnight. I love my studio and have an amazing team. I love starting the day with morning yoga if I can. Taking time to meet for lunch with my friends. Which is how I counter-balance working long hours. I am meeting clients, making new samples, working on new prototypes, getting lost in admin (haha!), researching new inspirations, meeting friends for wine in the evenings.
How do you make your clothes work for you and your busy lifestyle?
They need to be easily transformative from casual into professional, and same time practical and comfortable to work in them in the studio. If I can just add red lipstick and go out for wine and dinner in the evening it's an absolute win.
What are your go-to wardrobe staples?
Large oversize shirts, black pencil trousers, high-waisted washed out Levi jeans, white jeans, white sweatshirt, black spaghetti strap body, huge scarf/blanket.
And finally...
If I wasn't running Kana London I would be...LIVING ON AN ISLAND!
My favourite artists are... Ludovico Einaudi, Pina Bausch, Banana Yoshimoto.
Words to live by... loving yourself it's the quietest most powerful revolution.
My ideal breakfast... fresh chilli scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough toast or with marmite and butter.
My day isn't complete until I've... done my meditating/affirmations
My favourite London hangout... my studio
 Valentina Knitted Jacket > |
 Gigi Trousers > |
 Caroline Top > |
 Ingrid Sweater > |
 Margot Jeans > |