Keith Brymer Jones

I’m Keith Brymer Jones, a born and bred Londoner and a potter by trade.

The first thing I ever made was a pottery owl, when I was 11 years old. The process of pottery gave me a sort of sense of escapism. It was then that I knew I wanted to be a potter and, after a brief stint as the lead singer of a punk band (!), that’s just what I did, becoming an apprentice for Harefield Pottery in London at 18. This is where I really learnt how to use traditional hard graft to make modern ceramics.

After my apprenticeship I started out at my first studio in Highgate hand-making all of my ceramics for lots of retailers including Conran, Habitat, Barneys NY, Monsoon, Laura Ashley, and Heals. It was then, about twenty years ago, I began to develop the Word Range for the first time. I was originally attracted to words because of their shapes; the bucket mug ‘hot’ is my favourite because of how symmetrical the word shape is. The range has now grown to include over 80 different words that I hope will bring smiles to people’s faces!

My working life now revolves around my studio in Whitstable, Kent, which is housed inside an old bakery. Here I hand design every Keith Brymer Jones item (oh yes, it’s all very hands on!). I also throw shapes on my pottery wheel here for other designers in my job as Head of Design at MAKE International, a leading retailer of designer ceramics, with a wholesale division. It is in this role I have been lucky enough to collaborate with amazing designers and brands like Jane Foster, Scion, Hokolo and Designer’s Guild.

Once I am happy with each shape I have thrown on the wheel, I then travel to China with the finished prototype, where I work with our great team on the factory floor to ensure the products we mass produce maintain the same standards as the ones in my studio back home. All of the pieces in the Keith Brymer Jones ranges are then finished by hand.

My design philosophy is a simple one; I like to create stylish yet simple products that are pleasing to the eye and, above all, are practical in the modern home and make people happy! For me, less is more!

I’ve even done a few videos singing about my ceramics and how I make them, which you can see here! I hope you enjoy!

If you would like to set up a trade account to stock some of me pots and that, please get in touch here.