Ceramics. Just love.

The place that I was so excited by in Vaidava, is a ceramic manufacture “Vaidava Ceramics”. While planning our route, we came on their website (http://www.vaidava.lv/) and were amazed: the site is very stylish and laconic (as we like), and all product - just love.

A new collection is called "Earth": it is about the beauty of nature, the harmony of colour and form, about the importance of the content and the sense.

And as it turned out, those points are the milestones of their craft.

Ceramics atelier was established many years ago, and now it became a family business: father Jānis Balodis decided to open a ceramic manufacture in the distant 1980, and now his son Miks Balodis is managing it.

Just approaching the atelier building, I noticed windows chocked up with plaster forms and ceramic biscuits, and my step significantly accelerated, turned after into running :)

Just wanted to put one thought before continuing the story.

Recently, I realized that only during school holidays I could afford forgetting the current day of the week. Fortunately, the time when I can do it is here again. But! The thing is that we didn’t think about it on Sunday, when people are usually resting. That’s why there was no one in the ceramic atelier - all the masters had their deserved weekend. But to say that the atelier was empty - no way.
Several huge halls were filled with shelves where they were resting - plates and tea cups, bowls and candlesticks, jugs and dishes. In each of them - a part of the person who created it ...

I am inspired by the colour of red clay and its scent, I am inspired by the shapes and glaze, I am inspired by plaster moulds and huge furnaces.
I am charmed by the movement of the potter's wheel and the dried clay on fingers, by blowing the glaze and the careful pouring.
And I am amazed by the thought that from a formless piece of clay you can create anything you want...

I am finishing my lyrical digression and continuing the story.)

At the arranged time we met Sandra, a woman that works at the factory as a chief technologist, and she really knows everything about it, just everything.

Sandra told us the history of the factory, which was opened over 30 years ago, and that still keeps its traditions, the traditions of Latvian ceramics.
Sandra told us that she had not been so worried before about keeping the traditions: there were more than enough people who wanted to work with clay, but now young people prefer a sterile office in the city centre to a dusty atelier.
But, as Sandra said, Latvia is not Latvia any more without its ceramics, that’s why to save it up and to impart knowledge and skills is very desirable.

And there is a lot to impart, indeed.

The story and the conversation was long and very interesting, but still it couldn’t be enough for me, so I asked for some time just to walk around and take pictures, to stare and find an inspiration. Everything was done! I am sharing the beauty with you.

I already had been immensely happy, but by the end Sandra gave us gifts! Two beautiful bowls and cups – a plus to our collection of dishes :)

We will definitely come back here to meet all the talented people that live and work here.

During that day, I convinced myself one more time in my love and desire to be engaged in ceramics, as well as in that fact that you can learn anything you want, especially if you have the interest and patience ;)