ROSE & IVY Journal Studio Visit Most Recklessly — R&I Studio Visit

MostRecklessly Ceramics

Today we are stepping into the create space of Nicole Brunner of MostRecklessly ceramics. Nicole fashions one of a kind dishes, vases and hand dyed fabrics in her Brooklyn apartment. We recently caught up with her and got to see her creativity in action from mixing and rolling clay. Here is a peak inside of her process!

When did you first start to dabble in pottery?

My very first memory of pottery was back in elementary school, though I’m not entirely sure what I made, I remember that I liked the feeling of clay between my fingers.

When did you realize that you wanted to go beyond just a hobby and begin your company?

Since I was a teenager I’ve always wanted to run my own business. While trying to decide what to focus on I experimented with several different kinds from selling vintage to other forms of art, but none of them ever felt right.

The notion of selling ceramics really hit me when I gave a bowl to a friend. Their reaction was so happy and priceless. I wanted to create that experience for others and their loved ones. Once I realized that everything just kind of fell into place from there.

How would you describe your design aesthetic in three words?

Thoughtful, organic and handcrafted.

How do you approach a piece - do you have in mind what you will create or do you create and see what happens?

A little bit of both - Some days I enter into the studio with a plan and other days I am just letting the clay guide me. I never want to stifle what could be, so I try to allow room for both options. Doing so has allowed me to make some pretty interesting items.

You also hand-dye linens using all natural colorants from fruits to vegetables. Tell us about that process.

Cooking has always been a passion of mine and in the summer I find so much inspiration at the local Farmer’s Market. I wanted to figure out a way to utilize the entire fruit or vegetable I was cooking with so that none of it would be wasted. Dying felt like such a natural next step for MostRecklessly as it added another individual layer to gathering and entertaining.

The process is different for every piece of produce or plant that you decide to work with and there are lots of variants that could occur depending on the type of cookware, method of dyeing, or chemicals used. I love learning about all the color possibilities and how to manipulate each batch of dye to make one of a kind piece.

Do you see yourself experimenting with additional mediums in the future?

Yes! For me, creating MostRecklessly was a way to continue my education in a more freeform sort of way. Right now I am learning how to make clothing and eventually I hope to experiment with jewelry and woodworking. But, I’m open to all sorts of mediums even if I am not aware of them at the moment.

You create beauty with your hands in the physical sense, in a more philosophical way, how do you define beauty?

Beauty is such a subjective and ambiguous idea for me, which makes this a tough question to answer. I don’t believe that beauty is just a typical visual pleasure but that it can touch all of the senses. From my experiences I can pinpoint several moments in time that I felt filled with beauty and still do - the smell of citrus, the warmth of a sunrise, uncontrollably laughing, and watching shadows dance across a room.