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Laura Smillie is a studio potter based in Jersey, Channel Islands specialising in handcrafted, slip cast ceramic candles.
Laura graduated from a BA(Hons) Three Dimensional Design degree. She worked for many years in Architecture & Construction before a move to Jersey and a career break to have her son, prompted her to start her own ceramic business.
“I’ve enjoyed working with clay for as long as I can remember and I remember receiving my first potter’s wheel for Christmas aged 10. I still have it today after all these years. I went on to study ceramics at college and have continued with lessons and specialist courses right through to adulthood. With my interest in product design, which I studied at university, it was a natural decision to combine both interests and set up my own ceramic business creating beautiful, handmade homeware products”
Working from her home studio in St Brelade, Laura handcrafts candle holders, one-by-one following traditional slip casting methods. Working mainly with Porcelain liquid clay (slip), each candle is handcrafted using a plaster mould, custom made to Laura’s candle holder design. The process involves pouring slip in to the mould and allowing the water content of the clay to be absorbed by the permeable nature of the plaster. After a precise length of time, excess slip is poured out of the mould to reveal a soft layer of clay adhering to the side, in the form of the candle holder. Once the clay has dried, the candle holder is carefully removed from the mould, hand finished and decorated with Laura’s illustrations. Each candle is fired up to three times in a pottery kiln to temperatures in excess of 1200 degrees celsius and totals over 48 hours in the kiln.
“I particularly like working with porcelain. It is the Jersey cream of clay! So smooth and luxurious. The translucent properties of porcelain naturally make it an ideal material in which to produce my candle holders from; they glow beautifully. Using the slip casting process allows me to cast the walls of the candle holder thinner than usual to allow the candle light to illuminate the porcelain.”
Laura further utilises the translucency qualities of the clay through decoration to achieve varying luminous effects. In her ‘Sandstorm’ and 'Seascape' candle holder ranges, Laura adds coloured clay during the slip casting process to create a one-off marble pattern, unique to every candle holder. When Illuminated with a candle, the translucency of the porcelain highlights the marble decoration, creating a stormy landscape, flickering in the light.
“My 'Sandstorm' and 'Seascape' candle holder range is the result of many hours of experimentation to achieve just the right amount of colour and marble decoration to make it aesthetically pleasing. I have developed a technique which to a degree allows for some control over the effect I wish to accomplish, however the remainder is left to chance which results in the uniqueness of each candle and the element of surprise. I never know the effect until each candle is finished and it is lit for the first time.”
In contrast, ‘Jersey Glows’ is a collection of candle holders illustrating iconic Jersey landmarks, native wildlife and pastime activities favoured by locals and visitors alike. When illuminated, silhouettes of activity magically appear, bringing Jersey to life by candle light.
“I am very proud to call Jersey my home. For such a small island, it has a lot to offer and I wanted to bring a little bit of Jersey inside the home to enjoy. I decided to create a series of candle holders which celebrated all things Jersey, not just the landmarks but the goings-on around the landmarks which show the Jersey way of life.”
Laura is married with two children. She works part time, handcrafting candle holders from her home studio and is currently working on new designs with the aim to expand her product range.
Featuring La Corbiere lighthouse located in Jersey, Channel Islands. When illuminated with a tea light candle, silhouettes of seagulls magically appear from within, bringing the iconic landmark to life, by candle light.
