Feldspar
Homeware Designers
UK
Creative couple Cath and Jeremy Brown’s company grew out of a dramatic – and delightful – change in their lifestyle.
Cath had previously trained as an architect in London, while Jeremy had worked for many years on the UN’s Ethical Fashion Initiative – but when she became pregnant with their son, they quit their jobs, left their flat in Hackney, and moved to a “falling-down farmhouse” in Dartmoor. As Feldspar, they make beautiful household items that will last: “Objects that aren’t necessarily easy to make, but are well-designed, and lighthearted in a way,” Jeremy says. Right now they make chic, bone-china homeware, but they have more ideas up their sleeves. “Hopefully as you see the brand evolve, we’ll get more and more eccentric.”
Cath spent months developing the scent of their Moor Candle, which smells like the moorland. It’s made of soy wax, and housed in a reusable fine bone china pot, through which the light glows.
All the brand’s vessels are dimpled to fit the hand. “The reason mugs are usually cylindrical is because it makes them easier to produce,” explains Jeremy. “So we thought we’d make ours harder to produce, but nicer to feel.”
The couple design in Devon, then send prototypes to Stoke on Trent, where the pieces are made. They’re then passed to a decorator, who hand-paints them. The packaging is produced in Malvern, using Colorplan paper from the Lake District. “We’re supporting British industry as much as possible,” says Cath.
“Feldspars are the most abundant group of minerals on the planet, and they make up about 60% of the earth’s crust. They’re in china clay and glass, and they make those materials really strong. We chose Feldspar as a name because we think it’s amazing that something can be so important, and yet almost nobody has heard of it.”
