I was in Art school for around 5 years. I loved every minute of it and learnt so much but what I truly learnt is that I do not consider myself an artist. That’s not to say that I didn’t do well, at the completion of my Ceramics Advanced Diploma I was offered an exhibition and representation in a professional gallery. This was the goal, right?

But it wasn’t quite right, the gallery world was not where I was comfortable. I was a little bit lost; the internet was not what it is today, and I didn’t see a way to sell my work that didn’t involve being part of the gallery scene. At this point I stumbled across a final year exhibition of Industrial Design work and knew this was for me. I loved making functional work and trying to understand how people interact with objects in their day-to-day life, maybe I was a designer?

 I loved my design education, learning the technical aspects of manufacturing, how to develop concepts, making models, design history, everything. But as the degree went on, there was a realisation that I didn’t necessarily want to apply my knowledge in the way it was being taught. That is design objects (a lot of them disposable) that are produced in the thousands by others. I wanted to do something different.

I wanted to be involved not only in the design process but also in the manufacture – that is I knew I wanted to be someone who designs and makes their own product. I wanted to design objects that people wanted, beautiful products that would last. I knew clay was the perfect medium for me to achieve this.

Today I would say I live somewhere in between those worlds, drawing upon my experience at art school and my knowledge as an Industrial Designer. These two aspects are essential, and I couldn’t imagine doing what I do without this combined knowledge. Art, design, throw in a healthy dose of craft for good measure and you have Henry & Tunks.

Lyndel Henry