DARN x Friends - Three Cheers for Holly Blues
The wonderful Holly. Mother, maker and co-founder of Mud Club with studio buddy (and fellow DARN friend) Rosa Lily James.
Holly Brannigan is a potter from Cornwall that embraces the physicality of working purely with her hands, following traditional methods and using simple materials. As a mother of three, she believes in finding moments of joy amongst the fullness of life, and is passionate about making work that guides others to slow down, and create ritual in every day tasks. With that in mind, her objects are made to feel ancient and weather-beaten, bringing an unrefined beauty to the mundane.
Lending her creative eye and style to ceramics, each collection of designs made by Holly are driven to her parents kiln not too far away on the south coast of Cornwall.
We wait patiently to see how each of her creations turn out even though we know that every teapot, mug and mini ceramic necklace are without a doubt going to be a true portrayal of Holly's style and touch.
She is a wizard and everything she creates makes us want to cheer!
A member of the DARN family for sometime (Holly and her daughter Queenie kindly shared their favourite mince pie recipe with us last year!) we are thrilled to have a selection of goodies on offer from Holly as part of this collaboration...
Why do you create ceramics?
I luuurve clay! It’s such a balm from life’s busyness to get my hands in it and just make what feels intuitive. I balance a lot of plates with a house renovation, home-schooling three kids and leading a church, so I started making ceramics solely as an escape from thinking about stuff, and then found my medium! When everything gets too much I know I probably need a dunk in the sea and to dig my hands into clay.
2. What does success mean to you?
Ooh tricky one. It’s really not a word that comes up very much in our house, if ever! I think it’s important to always fight to free ourselves from what anyone else tells us is success, Cornwall is a real good place to do that! Do what you love and if you don’t love it anymore, shake it up.
If you can find yourself in difficult times but still be able to see joy and beauty, and be grateful for what you’ve got is ultimate success.
3. Are you a minimalist or a maximalist?
Oh I’m an absolute maximalist. I love unearthing second hand treasures and pieces from nature, so I’m always surrounded by things that inspire me. It really makes me happy to curate them around our busy life and form a creative sanctuary for our gang.
4. What was the last trip you went on? What was your favourite moment?
Hmmm, last proper trip was to Scotland in our van. Waking up next to our favourite Loch and cooking breakfast on the beach. I flipping love that space, it’s just so wild.
5. Do you have a life motto or an affirmation you like to tell yourself?
Be kind.
6. What is your process to revive your creativity when stuck in a block?
Play! Shake yourself around, do something fun and try out something different. If I get stuck in a groove with pottery, I pick up paints or crayons, ask a fellow maker to do a skill swap! Changing perspective can help moving a block.
7.What song never fails to get you moving?
Dancing in the Moonlight for nostalgic value. My sisters and I played it relentless for 15 years, and I cant listen to it and not get grooooovin!
