HAND- SPUN METAL
Our copper and brass pieces are solid metal. Not plated, not coated.
Like a copper roof or a brass door handle, they are made to age. With time and handling, a natural patina develops, deepening from warm gold through amber to soft greens and browns or blacks. Because patina grows through touch and exposure, it can be uneven. More pronounced where the piece is handled most. This is not a flaw; it is the material recording its own history.
We apply a protective wax to each piece before it leaves our studio, which slows the process without preventing patina from forming. Reapply a natural beeswax polish periodically to maintain the protection.
If you wish to clean your piece, watch our short guide here: Copper/Brass polishing instruction video
MOUTH- BLOWN GLASS
Our glass is made by hand, formed by a pair or team of glassblowers using breath and hands. This process produces characteristics that are inseparable from the making, not flaws, but evidence of how the piece came to exist.
Small bubbles suspended within the glass are a natural result of mouth-blowing. The larger the piece, the more pronounced this can be. Eliminating them entirely would require a volume of waste we are not willing to produce and seems unnecessary. Similarly, the colour may shift across the surface, appearing deeper in some areas and lighter in others, where the glass has gathered or stretched during forming. These variations are not imperfections — they are what distinguishes a handmade piece from industrial glass, and what makes each one unrepeatable.
The colour you see on screen is an approximation — transparent glass shifts entirely depending on the light and background it is placed against. In your home, it will look different, and often more beautiful.
HAND-TURNED WOOD
Our wooden pieces are turned from seasoned wood sourced directly from the forest, shaped on the lathe with the natural bark crown left intact. Each follows the grain and character of the individual tree.
Wood continues to expand and contract with changes in humidity long after it has been worked. Where wooden lids sit on glass, the fit is deliberately loose to allow this movement freely.
The bark crown is fragile and should not be handled directly, it is there to be seen, not touched.
To maintain the wood, apply a food-safe oil when you feel it needs a shine, working with the grain, and wipe away any excess.
HAND- THROWN CERAMICS
Our ceramic pieces are hand-thrown and kiln-fired in Italy, Germany and France. Some surfaces are intentionally left rough, a deliberate textural contrast to the smoothness of the glass they are made to accompany. This is a design choice, not an inconsistency.
Raku pieces go further still. Pulled from the kiln at high temperature and buried in fire and ash, the surface is wild, uneven, and unrepeatable. Shaped as much by the process as by the maker's hand. No two raku pieces are identical, and none are meant to be.
Both can be wiped clean with a damp cloth. No further care is required.
These objects are not for display cases. An unwashed glass, a table ring on wood, a worn edge on a bowl — these are the marks of a life well lived with beautiful things. Utopia & Utility pieces are made to be touched, used, and passed on.
