Quick Takes With: Henry Holland
For most people, pandemic crafts were a fleeting hobby. But Henry Holland‘s lockdown obsession, a Japanese pottery technique called Nerikomi, made him fall in love with the meditative process of stacking, folding, and rolling colored clay into slabs, then hand-molding them into functional forms. When he began to develop his own take on the method, he left his career in fashion and launched ceramics-focused lifestyle brand Henry Holland Studio in 2021.
Henry Holland Studio’s ceramic tableware, vases, and planters are recognizable for their bold hues and swirly patterns—an organic, psychedelic look they’ve brought to collaborations, too, launching collections of textiles, glassware, lighting, and furniture with local artisans and makers. “I firmly believe that collaboration is key for small brands to grow and reach a global audience,” Henry says. “By working with like-minded creatives, we can offer our customers exciting, beautiful home products while also supporting the incredible craftsmanship here in the UK.”
While he’s gearing up to release his gingham collection, Henry writes in from London with his bedside table essentials, his first design love, and the Parisian shop that compels him to buy ceramics other than his own.
You’re invited to dinner. What’s your go-to gift?
Embarrassingly, we always turn up with a piece of my ceramics. Either a candle or a vase. My husband says it’s embarrassing to keep pushing our wares, but I like to think people are happy to receive it!
What’s on your bedside table?
A photograph of my mum, a Henry Holland Studio Swan Lamp, some ceramic face mugs we bought in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Leigh Bowery’s biography by Sue Tilley, which I’m currently reading.
