The beginnings of Mojo Ceramic Vessels at Daisy Cooper HQ

"Basically myself and my partner do almost every job, every day, to keep the business growing and expanding, but we love what we do so it’s always fun to be at work"

Ceramic Vessels being branded at Daisy Coopers studio in Melbourne

We really admire the beauty of the handmade process behind your ceramics and the use of earthy, natural materials. Can you tell us a little more about your materials and your production process?

All our pieces are made from stoneware clay, which we hand build into a variety of shapes, each bag of clay is chopped up, weighed out and then usually pinched or rolled to start with. We then add height by slab building upwards. Once the shapes are made, we allow them to dry for 24hrs until they are the texture of soft leather, then we refine and shape them back to define the desired shape and add a little texture. Each piece is then sponged down and left to dry for about a week. Once they are bone dry we place them in the kiln for their first firing, called a bisque, then they are glazed in a variety of our studio glazes. We love to layer and play with colour, so although we know the final colour in theory, each one is individual and has its own story. The glazed pieces then go back in the kiln to be high fired to 1270’, which takes around two days for the kiln to heat up and cool down. Then we unload, do quality checks and sand the bases before photographing and selling online or to shops. On top of this we also recycle all our off cuts of clay back into re usable clay for production, and we mix our own glazes in the studio.

Candle production underway at Mojo HQ in the Southern Highlands

Daisy Cooper & her dog Juno at their brand new Studio Space

Whats does a day in the life of Daisy Cooper look like – how has 2020/21 affected you or changed the way you work?

 A day in the life really varies, but luckily for us we already worked from home so 2020/2021, as stressful as it was for small businesses, didn’t change our daily routine too much. Usually it starts with a very early wake up with our toddler, breakfast and the daycare run. Then down to the studio, which used to be under our house, depending on where we are at with the making schedule I usually try to start by making new pieces, so they can start to firm up, then a little bit of glazing to fill one of the kilns, shaping any leather hard work, admin dotted between and a quick lunch! And then we also have to pack orders ready for collection by the couriers the next day. Basically myself and my partner do almost every job, every day, to keep the business growing and expanding, but we love what we do so it’s always fun to be at work.

The handmade process for each and every vessel that goes on to become our Mojo Ceramic Candles

We love that you plant a tree for every order and stress the importance of taking care of our planet. Why is this so important to you?

Our impact on the environment is not small anymore, collectively that is, we try as a family to minimise where we can but ultimately where we live we need a car everyday, we run a business that uses electric kilns and clay that is mined from the earth, so we wanted to try and balance that where we could. The craft of clay lends itself to recycling and reusing and the ethos behind our business is that a piece of our ceramics is for life, not just a throw away item. However I felt that partnering with One Tree Planted would allow us to directly balance our impact on the environment and help support the reforestation of Australia, where we work and live, but also around the world. One tree planted is a wonderful organisation that helps small, and large, businesses plant trees where they are needed in the world. We hope to work towards becoming carbon neutral in the next 2-5 years by working with other organisations and if we grow enough in size I would also like to become a B-Corp too one day.

Claespace - Daisys studio offering Ceramic workshops & short courses

What has been the most rewarding aspect of creating Daisy Cooper Ceramics?

By running my own business that was born from a real passion for working with clay, it allows me to do what I love everyday, be creative and give that back to my community. The love and understanding for and about handmade has grown so much in the last 5 years here in Australia, that it is an absolute pleasure to be part of that, to spread the word about handmade, work with other small businesses that are doing what they love and connecting with customers that appreciate handmade is the ultimate reward when you are making, and selling, handmade products.