Name: Clare Madill
Website links:
heyday designWhat do you make?I work in ceramics – I make molds of found, mostly vintage, forms and translate them into fine porcelain objects. These are currently taking the form of vintage canning jars. Also, I make countless variations of earrings and brooches from the positive and negative patterns on the bottom of vintage glass pickle dishes. I am also currently working on a series of porcelain lights...
What or who inspires you?I definitely get inspired when I go thrift-store shopping – seeing what I can find and how I can use these found snippets of information and translate it into something else. I am super-inspired by the people I know who are successfully make their living creating things with their hands.
How did you get started?Before going to Emily Carr, I took some ceramics classes at a community centre in Ottawa. While studying at Emily Carr, I found a fantastic community of people; it was easy to be completely immersed in ceramics. Participating in the annual student show + sale was great experience for making and selling my work.
What are your favourite materials to work with?I love the translucency of porcelain, of course. But I'd also have to say plaster is a favourite – I can't believe I'm writing that, but it's actually true now. It's the material I need to make my molds so that I'm able to make what I make. It helps that i've gotten waaaaay better at mold-making so it's not the disastrous chore it used to be!
I kind of have a thing for platinum lustre, too – it adds a bit of glamorous detail to the situation.
What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?Hardest: the long hours and how physically hard on my body my work can be. Favourite part: meticulous fine details really satisfy the obsessive/compulsive part of my personality...
List 5 of your favourite links and why you like themdesign sponge: great bizladies articles, and always fun to see what creative and talented people make and how they integrate design in their environments
musing about mud: great for links to all kinds of calls for submissions, etc., for people working in clay
I like having a bit of a laugh at the end of the day...
regretsy is a new fave.
since i just got home from a 14 hour day in the studio and have emails to send, i don't really leave much time for surfing around... gotta go to bed (1:24am)...
(photo images courtesy of Clare Madill /
heyday design)
If you are interested in being featured, please send us an email at info(at)gotcraft(dot)com.
Check out our past features...
Smeeta - feature #27
ACageyBee - feature #26
Maked - feature #25
Firefly Notes - feature #24
Florence Ann - feature #23
Him Creations - feature #22
Jenny Hart - feature #21
district thirty - feature #20
tinywarbler designs - feature #19
telly designs - feature #18
Cabin + Cub - feature #17
Rachel Hobson - feature #16
Green Couch Designs - feature #15
Tanis Alexis - feature #14
Sweetie Pie Press - feature #13
Fibre Manipulator - feature #12
Sam Made - feature #11
All Things Paper - feature #10
Owl + Pussycat - feature #9
Bliss in a teacup - feature #8
It's Your Life - feature #7
Faythe Levine - feature #6
Coco Cake Cupcakes - feature #5
pomomama design - feature #4
GroovyGlassGirl - feature #3
Bueno Style - feature #2
The Beautiful Project - feature #1
The Shiny Fuzzy Muddy collective, named for descriptors of the media represented, was founded in 2003 by Kari Woo, Arleigh Wood, Astrosatchel, Frances Felt, and cul de sac design. The collective set out to promote the handmade movement and avoid the customary association of craft fairs with dollies by presenting a carefully curated selection of work. Now in it's 11th year, Shiny Fuzzy Muddy is proving to be shinier, fuzzier, and muddier than ever with 25 local designers showcasing their wares in the two day show.
