If you're not familiar with how the pieces are made then have a little read below because they go through such a process and you'll love your piece even more if you know how special it is. 

So the first step the moulding process, I now use the slip cast method which means they get poured into my handpinched mould and popped out to dry. They take a few days to get to leather hard, which is when we make them super cute, we'll trim the rim, add a few perfectly imperfect touches, customise it (if you're having any), add a handle and the logo and voila. It's ready to dry for a good week or two (depending on the weather). It needs to be bone dry to get painted, glazed and ready to fire. 

In around 10 days, it's getting checked for warping, cracking and general imperfections which can happen during drying. If any imperfections are seen, we start again and remake your mug from scratch.

Once we're happy with our bone dry mug, it gets washed for a smooth finish, painted with your chosen gems/designs and glazed like a krispy kreme doughnut. Once this is done it's ready to be left for another day or so to let all that glaze sink in. Then it's in the queue for the kiln.

The kiln reaches up to 1240 degrees celsius. Which is extremely hot. The firing process takes around 3 days to reach its final temperature and to cool down.

This whole process is roughly 3 - 4 whole weeks for just one mug and sometimes 3 - 8 weeks if they need to be remade. They have been through so many stages and now ready to go to their new homes and be LOVED. 

Every stage is much easier said than done and greenware clay is very fragile. Greenware is the stage between wet clay and fired ceramic. In between these stages any damage to the piece is catastrophic and we have to start again. The handles can snap at any point just from shrinking during the drying process. 

Your new piece is being made with so much love and care already and I get SO excited to get them out to you that I forget to take cute pictures so please don't forget to tag me on instagram @naetive.studio.

If you have any questions or want any updates please pop me an email on hello@naetive.co.uk.

THANK U LOVE U