Bespoke Ceramics for Safari Lodges
Tableware, curio pieces and guest gifts, developed around your lodge and the place it belongs to.
A collection that belongs to your lodge
Every lodge has its own character: its landscape, its materials, its colours and the way it draws guests into a place. A bespoke Wenwe collection explores those qualities in clay, so the ceramics belong to your lodge and nowhere else.
Rather than choosing from an existing range, I develop the collection around your setting, the way your lodge works and the part you want ceramics to play in the guest experience.
Wherever possible, ash and clay gathered from the lodge and its surroundings become part of the glazes. Your guests then hold something made of the place they are staying in.
Everything is made by hand in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on one tested clay body, so the pieces stay consistent and practical for everyday use.
What the collection can be
It can be as small or as complete as your lodge needs:
A curio shop range, so guests can take a piece of the place home
Guest gifts
A full dining set, such as large and small plates, large and small bowls and mugs
Serving pieces or other objects
There is no minimum order. A small curio shop range is a good place to begin.
How it works
From first conversation to finished pieces, a collection takes around two months if everything goes to plan. The timing depends on how quickly we can meet, when I can visit the lodge and the size of the order.
A first conversation
This is a chance to talk through your ideas and see the work. If you are within a day's drive of Bulawayo, I will come to you with samples of my work: plates, bowls and mugs to handle, and a triaxial glaze blend in Gwayi Green, so you can see how a collection grows from a few materials. If you are further away, we talk by video call and I show you the work on screen.
A visit to the lodge
If we decide to go ahead, I visit the lodge, ideally with the owner or decision maker there. We look at the crockery and ceramics you use now, talk about what works and what could be better, and spend time in the landscape. I collect and document clay, ash and other natural materials. The visit is where the project becomes real, and the arrangements for it are agreed together before anything is booked.
Developing the glazes
Back in the studio, I process your materials and test them alongside the Wenwe clay body. I build a triaxial blend, a grid of small test tiles that each mix the materials in a slightly different balance, and choose a few favourites.
Choosing your colour
We meet again, in person or on video. I show you the triaxial blend, my favourites and a small selection of other colours. You can choose from my selection, or pick a new colour from the triaxial. If you are far away, I send sample tiles, and we agree the cost of sending them.
Agreeing the pieces
Once the colour is settled, we agree the pieces, quantities and uses. I develop the forms together, so that cups, plates, bowls and any serving pieces share a common visual language. We then look at test pieces and finished forms together and refine them until the collection feels right for the lodge.
With everything agreed, production begins.
See it at work: Gwayi Green
Gwayi Green is the first glaze in the Hwange Collection, and the clearest example of how a place becomes a glaze.
It is made from three materials from Zimbabwe: Gwayi clay, ash from burnt mopane trees, and Zimbabwean feldspar. I tested them in a triaxial blend, a grid of tiles where each tile mixes the three in a different balance, and chose the glaze that looked and behaved best. The green comes from iron in the glaze, developed in a reduction firing. The glaze is made from feldspar, ash and clay, with no heavy metals added.
Your collection follows the same idea. The feldspar stays constant, while, wherever possible, the ash and clay come from your place.
And then it can grow
A lodge is never completely static, and nor does a ceramic collection have to be. As pieces are well used, new areas open up or your needs change, I can keep producing within the established collection.
Replacements can be made and extra pieces added. Where it suits, new forms or variations can be introduced, keeping the materials, glazes and character that make the collection distinctive. If local materials are needed again, I can return to collect more, so the relationship with the place continues.
The aim is a collection that doesn't simply sit within your lodge, but becomes part of its identity over time.
Good to know
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No. A small curio shop range is a good place to begin.
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Talking through your ideas costs nothing and carries no obligation. If we decide to go ahead, each project is priced to suit the collection. The main costs are the lodge visit and making the pieces, and the meetings along the way are part of the project rather than charged separately. We agree everything together before anything is booked.
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The lodge covers my travel, accommodation, meals and a daily fee for the time I am there. We agree the details together after the first conversation, before anything is booked.
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Start to finish, around two months from the first conversation to finished pieces, if everything goes to plan. It depends on timing and the size of the order.
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I am based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Within a few hours drive, I will come to you for the first meeting. Further away, we start with a video call. Its always best to meet in person so we can discuss options
Let's create a collection
If you are thinking about a bespoke ceramic collection for your lodge, I'd love to start with a conversation.