How To Build A Beautiful Ceramics Collection To Elevate Your Home
As they unveil an ultra-pleasing collection of stackable ceramics, OMAR SOSA, creative director and co-founder of Apartamento, and NICHOLAI WIIG-HANSEN, co-founder of Raawii, share the synergy that went into their collaboration, the beauty of buying versatile pieces, and how to create the perfect balance of ceramics in your space
“I liked the idea of [being limited] to creating a circular object and also seeing something materialize immediately,” says Omar Sosa, creative director and co-founder of interiors magazine Apartamento, on learning how to make ceramics and discovering that part of the process involved a wheel to freeform plaster. “Doing something with my bare hands felt too broad, with too many possibilities – so it made it easier to work within the framework of this limitation.”
His collaboration with the refined Copenhagen-based ceramics brand Raawii was born out of a synergy between him and Raawii’s co-founder Nicholai Wiig-Hansen: “We are both unafraid of improvising. We believe in human interaction and that when we communicate, we can create something together,” says Sosa. Wiig-Hansen agrees, adding: “I think [neither of us] fear failing… we believe our knowledge exchange [will] create new ideas.”
The gratifying result is a perfect collection of sleek, glazed earthenware in four shapes (a deep and a shallow bowl, a carafe and a vase) and nine shades – including cinnamon, strong coral, smoke green, mustard and nude pink. The stackable shapes and harmonious hues mean they are designed to be combined with each other in many different formations.
“When it comes to objects, I like them to be open to others’ interpretations and uses. Nothing would make me happier than the objects being used in a different way than I would have imagined – I do not believe in the designer being a sort of ruler over purpose and use
”Omar Sosa
“I think it’s important that we offer a broad collection of functions and colors, [so] people can endlessly [curate] with a simple rearrangement,” says Wiig-Hansen. For Sosa, this mixing of shades and layering of pieces comes from the beauty he finds in everyday compositions.
“Besides shape, one of the things I most worked on in this collection was color,” he says. “So, it was very lucky that Nicholai and Raawii allowed for the use of many colors. I chose to use hues that were unconventional – also diverging from the existing Raawii palette.”
The series celebrates the versatility of items to create different moods and emotions. As a result, pieces are designed with no purpose in mind – they could just as easily be used as a tablescape centerpiece as a (very elegant) dog bowl, says Sosa.
“This relates to the idea of improvisation, with the attitude of allowing things to happen; being open to things happening to you, both in creating and in life,” he says. “When it comes to objects, I like them to be open to others’ interpretations and uses. Nothing would make me happier than the objects being used in a different way than I would have imagined – I do not believe in the designer being a sort of ruler over purpose and use; I believe in a sense of ease and openness.”
In building a beautiful ceramics collection at home, Wiig-Hansen believes that “it’s important to work with colors that create emotions,” while a good rule of thumb is “having an equal mix between modern/contemporary objects, inherited pieces and vintage finds.”
For his own space, he likes to purchase pieces “that will challenge my taste,” he considers. “I sometimes enjoy the discomfort of living with something you are not quite sure yet whether you like or not.” Perhaps unfortunately for him, then, the Raawii x Apartamento collection is set to be an instant favorite.