All pieces are handmade in our Parisian studio.
Behind the workshop window, the team of ceramists brings the vases to life,
animals and magical creatures. Every night, the ceramic kiln
purrs quietly, at a temperature of 1000 degrees.
The 3 key stages of ceramic manufacturing:
I. the form
In the beginning, there's shaping. At Dodo Toucan, we have two centers in the workshop for working on the shape.
modeling
It all starts with a ball of earth.
Under the hands of our ceramists, the material stretches, takes shape, and becomes animals or lucky charms. These shapes are smoothed, then the clay dries for ten days. Each member of the team specializes in certain shapes: Ivana the lucky charms, Héloïse the deer, Sara the tigers, and the foxes!
...or casting?
For large pieces like our vases, we develop our range of molds, from a hand-modeled original or a 3D print, depending on the desired result.
Once the mold is made, we pour liquid earth into it every morning.
In the evening, we unmold and sometimes add details by hand, such as handles or ears. It's a slow technique because a mold only allows one or two castings per day!
2. the decor
After drying, the color comes into play. The pieces are painted with engobes, a mixture of earth and pigments, then wrapped for a first firing. Upon removal, the colors become more vibrant and the earth, which was initially gray, turns white.
La terre semble boire les couleurs qui paraissent délavées. Les
céramiques sont ensuite enfournées pour une première cuisson de 24h à
près de 1000 degrés. À leur sortie, les couleurs apparaissent dans tout
leur éclat, et la terre, grise au départ, blanchit.
3. enameling
After the first firing, we move on to the biscuit stage. The clay is white, but still matte and porous. The pieces are immersed in a bath of transparent enamel followed by a second firing.
At around 1000 degrees, the enamel vitrifies and gives the
ceramics a shiny appearance while revealing the intensity of the
colors: the process is complete.
Recycling and reuse of materials
Finally, for technical reasons, some of the soil cannot be recycled. We transform it into chips that we bake to create clay balls. This way, they will live their best life in your flower pots and contribute to the well-being of your plants. You will find them at a free price in our workshop boutique.
Like many ceramists,
we take care to recycle
earth falls in the workshop.
Carried out before firing, this process requires soaking the raw earth in water for several days, then kneading it to remove air bubbles.
We also use crushed dry earth waste to create our engobes, the ceramicists' paints, by mixing them with pigments and water.
