Is Louise Graham the world's greatest living ceramic philosopher? The problem with ceramic geeks is that we often have problems reconciling our own conspicuous consumption with our deep desire to eat our buckwheat groats out of a 16th century wood fired Korean peasant bowl. I own plenty of amazing ceramic vessels that I use every day, but they're alternated with Fiestaware, pink Spode transferware and whatever else catches my fancy. My fridge is full of Tupperware and nasty little plastic containers.
Like most other ceramic collectors, I'm a hypocrite who extols the virtues of the handmade while spending most of my time in the chilly, utilitarian arms of factory-produced plastic. Louise Graham feels my pain. Her work is a bridge between your Grandmother's fancy china and something I like to call REALITY. Louise just graduated from the University of the Arts in London last year, but she's already churning out beautiful objects that mediate between the supermarket and your best white-party-gloves impulses.
Take her butter/cheese dish handle for instance. You know the butter is coming out of the fancy butter dish the moment company leave. Why not acknowledge the fact by using Louise Graham's butter dish handle? Just attach it to the container your butter came in, and you've got a beautifully designed object that cuts through the hypocrisy without any extra dishes to wash. Her milk carton spout honors the cow who provided your milk while not pretending that you just squeezed it out yourself.
Her website seems to be coming soon...but in the meantime, you can purchase the milk spout, the butter dish handle and the Velcro egg cup from Pedlars' web store in the UK.
