Petr Novak:
"I designed two different, complementary styles of bowls for Sunday Natural. My idea was to create smooth, easy to clean and very practical bowls that exude the full vibrancy of handmade teaware. Each presents an individual personality and has a special texture that feels good in the hand. For the dark tea bowl, I used a smooth clay mixture, almost completely black, and for the white one I chose a light-coloured clay with coarse-grained black stone. The bowls were first shaped on a potter's wheel, then fired at a temperature of about 1000°C and polished. After glazing the bowls using my own glaze recipe, they were placed in a kiln once more, this time at 1220°C, which strenghthens the bowls and smooths out their deep glaze. I deliberately left the inside of the bowls white so as not to disturb the fascinating colour spectrum of the tea they will hold. I also left a small part of the outside unglazed to allow for appreciation of the special texture and grain of the clay."
Raneta Kulakova:
"Focusing on sturdy stitching, I attend to every detail to create a piece that can be enjoyed for many years to come. My protective bags are made from silky soft linen, a textile made from the fibres of the flax plant. Linen fabric feels wonderfully natural and becomes even softer over time. Compared to cotton, the flax plant requires significantly less water and is even more biodegradable, making it an excellent eco fabric for those who are environmentally conscious. Apart from the accessories for the appliqués, all components of the linen bag come from the Czech Republic, where I live. This includes the high-quality flax, which I buy directly from a Czech producer. It is important to me to source the basic materials for my work from close, familiar surroundings."
