The Story
My name is Jane Hubbard and Design Hubbard is my design and small manufacturing business. I started working with clay in 2022 after admiring ceramics all of my adult life. I worked successfully as a fashion designer for over 30 years, never considering that I could create with clay. In my mind, pottery always involved a potter’s wheel, uncontrollable clay, mishaps and water. I know that I am a messy kind of person so throwing pots was not even a passing thought. One day I saw clay being rolled out and then turned into tiles….an idea began to form and grow.
I now work in my home studio on the border of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire designing and making original ceramics. I am inspired by the things around me which I love. The current range features ivy as I am fascinated by the way it grows and decorates tree trunks, old walls and pretty much everything in its path.
I am hand building with high fire stoneware clay and some porcelain. Glazing pottery can be a challenging game and I am relishing it. I have tested several brands and types of glaze and underglaze, finding the right ones for each item I make and design. In my former career, I really enjoyed playing with colours and the way they balance with each other. This is so helpful with pottery design.
I have a small range of original tiles and decorative porcelain items available to buy and I am constantly designing and developing. You can buy one, two or two thousand tiles from me but give me a little longer for the two thousand! I enjoy buying from artists, makers and crafts people who have conceived an idea, made it and sent it directly to me. This is my ethos for this business.
The aim is always to create beautiful ceramics to enhance their surroundings; work which will endure and be enjoyed for many years.
My plan is to post projects and updates on here and on instagram to help me find people who would like to see my design style and the way I work and in turn to discover if we can work together on a great project.
As of February 2024 this website is brand new…so there’s some smoothing out to do. Thank you for your patience with this :)