A soulful union
There’s something special about discovering that beautiful things can be made much closer to home than you might expect.
For a while now, I’ve wanted to introduce some more locally made pieces to Sati - objects that feel connected to the place we live and work and that carry a story behind them.
Local potter and ceramicist Hannah Kinchin and I have been friends for many years. In fact, she started off working with a foot-pedal wheel in the Sati studio back in 2022 here on the farm where our studio is. She's now based on her own studio just a few buildings down so when the opportunity arose to collaborate, it felt like a lovely coming together of our shared history and creative interests.
Hannah creates soulful handcrafted ceramics and together we’ve been working on a small collection of ceramic ritual pieces for Sati, including incense holders and a ceramic ritual dish.
There’s something particularly lovely about the fact that these pieces are being made just a short distance from where we work - quite literally a stone’s throw across the way! Sati has always been about creating objects that encourage us to slow down and be a little more present, and it feels fitting that these pieces have been made slowly too, by hand and close to home.
From an idea to something you can hold
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this collaboration is seeing the process unfold.
It’s easy to look at a finished ceramic object and forget how much goes into making it. There’s the initial idea and then comes the clay, the shaping, the drying, the firing, the glazing and all the little decisions and adjustments along the way.
I think that’s one of the things I love about handmade objects. They have a sense of process about them. They aren’t completely uniform or anonymous and there’s something very satisfying about knowing that a person has sculpted each one, imbuing them with their unique energy and vision.
Hannah and I talked about what we wanted the pieces to feel like - simple, tactile and natural, with a sense of quietness about them. Something that would sit comfortably alongside the rest of the Sati collection and become part of those small rituals that punctuate everyday life.
Making space for ritual
The incense holder was perhaps the most obvious place to start.
Incense has always felt like a simple way of creating a little pause in the day. Lighting a stick, watching the smoke curl upwards and noticing the scent moving through a room - none of these things take very long but they can create a special atmosphere. The first thing I often do when I arrive at the studio is light a stick of incense, helping to create a calm environment and a little moment to mark the beginning of the working day.
Perhaps you light incense before meditation, when you’re practising yoga or while reading in the evening... there doesn’t really need to be a reason. It can just bring another dimension to your space.
The ceramic ritual dish came from a similar place. A little object for holding sage, palo santo or just the things that have everyday meaning to you - crystals, jewellery or something beautiful that you want to keep close.
I like the idea that these pieces don’t have to have one prescribed purpose... they can become whatever you need them to be.
Made locally, made slowly
Working with Hannah has also reminded me why I’m drawn to handmade things in the first place.
There is something very different about an object that has been made slowly by someone who knows the material they are working with, compared with something that has been produced thousands of miles away in a factory.
That isn’t to say that everything we create at Sati needs to be handmade locally - our cushions and other pieces have their own stories and relationships with the wonderful people we work with in India - but where there is an opportunity to collaborate with someone nearby, it feels really special to be able to do so.
And I love that this particular collaboration has grown out of the place where we already spend so much of our time.
The farm has become such an important part of Sati over the years so there is something lovely about bringing a sense of place into the collection.
A little more beauty in the everyday
I think there is something to be said for surrounding ourselves with objects that make everyday life feel a bit more special; to remind us to pause and find beauty in the ordinary.
I’m so happy to be able to share this collaboration with you and very grateful to Hannah for bringing these pieces to life.
I hope you love them as much as we do!
Discover the pieces here.
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