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Pépite first started with a three-month pop-up in Northcote (conveniently located at the base of my apartment block!) which allowed me to start small and test the waters – it was so much fun, and people really got behind it. Following this success, it wasn’t long after that I got the opportunity to share a space with Alpha60 in Fitzroy, which I moved into exactly a year ago.
It’s important for me to work with artists that I believe in, and that are serious about their craft, beyond trends, so I can see their practice develop and flourish over time. An essential part of the selection criteria is that the work is handmade by the artists themselves (rather than just designed by the artists) and be of high quality and well finished.
I select artists based on that feeling when you see something completely new and exciting, and think this is exactly what you’d been waiting for. Every piece at pépite has been carefully considered, and I am particularly passionate about uncovering emerging artists and supporting them to get their work out into the world, which has become an integral part of what pépite is all about.
At the very heart of pépite is an ode to our incredible community of local creatives, and my aim is to support and foster it as much as I can. Below are a list of seven incredible artists to keep an eye on!
Simone Karras
Simone first studied ceramics in the early 90s and after a long hiatus from making has recently returned to her ceramic practice to explore form and texture, within a minimalist aesthetic. Simone is particularly attracted to hand-building techniques in her work, such as coiling for its tactile and organic process, allowing her to take on a fluid approach when creating. Her work features beautiful textures, strong silhouettes and stunning curves that contrast with sharper angles.
Kirsten Perry
Kirsten is an artist with a background in Industrial Design, Fine Art (Gold & Silversmithing) and Multimedia now working predominantly with clay from her Preston studio. Japanese culture, aesthetics, and Wabi Sabi philosophy all greatly influence her work. Kirsten creates through exploring and pushing the nature of clay, playing with the material and allowing for an element of chance and serendipity to enter.
Britt Neech
Britt creates sculptural pieces from her home studio in Melbourne’s south and is driven by process-based experimentation. Britt works with a considered aesthetic and palette using various hand-building techniques and a mix of traditional and experimental materials to make timeless pieces and keepsakes for the home.
Ella Bendrups
Ella utilises pinching, carving and slab building techniques to create functional and sculptural pieces with an organic feel. Ella celebrates the maker’s touch, drawing on primitive pottery techniques and embracing evidence of process in her finished work. I love the rough finish on her pieces, which sometimes resemble stone carvings rather than ceramics.
e.b ceramics
Eb Vick aka eb. ceramics is a ceramicist working between the Mornington Peninsula and Sunbury. Her surrounds of both coastline and bushland greatly influence her work and have led to her recent collection using found earth materials, wood ash, oxides, slips to create custom glazes on high fired stoneware. Eb’s making technique deliberately shows her maker’s mark to embrace simple and organic imperfections and materiality.
Jade Thorsen
Jade first studied Industrial Design which formed her interest in ceramics and more broadly craft and ideas of slow making. Now working out of her studio in North Fitzroy, Jade’s studio practice focuses on wheel-thrown functional wares that sit somewhere between design, batch production and craft. I love that you will always find a sign of the maker’s mark on her works, whether it’s a hand-painted detail or an apparent fingerprint.
Pip Byrne
Pip is a Melbourne based maker and a landscape architect by day. Her practice has a focus on hand-built ceramic works with a particular interest in scale, play and collection, seen in both her functional and playful pieces. Pip’s pieces feature tactile surfaces and considered colour palettes – a crowd’s favourite has been her building block sets, which are just irresistible.
Pépite
195 Brunswick Street,
Fitzroy, Victoria
