Consultancy: Streamlining Circular Ceramics
Mentoring ceramic designers and artists to transform waste into fine art and functional wear for the real world.
A bespoke, online consulting service supporting ceramicists, designers, artists and manufacturers to work confidently with waste, develop new materials, and position their work meaningfully.
Inquire by Email
︎
sarahowardstudio@outlook.com
About Streamling Circular Ceramics:
When working with ceramics, we are primarily working with finite resources that are often difficult to trace back to their origin. Mitigating the real impact of our practice means rebuilding supply chains from the ground up. This is where Streamlining Circular Ceramics comes in.
I support designers and artists to build a local waste material ecology around their practice, creating transparency about where materials come from, how they are sourced, and by whom. This enables you to create work with a lower environmental impact and a stronger narrative connection to place.
Working with waste can present practical challenges, from material consistency to financial and labour feasibility. Through bespoke mentoring, I help you prioritise and streamline your methods so your practice remains efficient, viable, and positioned for real-world audiences.
Whether you are creating fine art or functional wear, I support you in communicating the value of local waste materials as a compelling advantage and selling point within your work.
What This Service Supports You To Do:
- Build a local waste material ecology around your practice
- Gain transparency over material sourcing and origins
- Integrate local waste streams into your material system
- Develop lower-impact ceramic materials and processes
- Refine small-scale or batch production
- Strengthen the narrative connection between your work and place
- Streamline methods to remain financially and labour efficient
- Position your work for real-world audiences
- Communicate the value of local waste materials as a selling point
Who It’s For:
- Artists, designers, and manufacturers exploring circular practices within ceramics
- Ceramicists developing glazes and clay bodies from secondary resources
- Creatives wanting to position their work for real-world impact
- Practitioners applying for or working through funding, including DYCP
- Designers and artists moving from concept to production
- Anyone looking to build confidence in circular ceramics
My Three Pillar Approach:
Pillar 1: Building Local Waste Ecologies
- How to approach industries for waste
- What waste is best to work with
- How to process waste
- Mapping local secondary resources
- Designing realistic circular supply chains
Pillar 2: Glaze and Clay Development
- Foundations of clay and glaze compositions
- The role of waste in clay and glazes
- Safety and performance testing
- Developing bespoke clay bodies and glazes
- Translating experimental materials into functional or fine outcomes
Pillar 3: Curating Narratives for Real World Positioning
- Targeting clients and audiences
- Communicating your work through exhibitions and shows
- Developing language to position your work to the right market
- Aligning narrative with values, impact, and audience
- Building a compelling story around materials and process
How We Work Together
Sessions are online and remote and last for one hour.
Mentoring is fully bespoke and flexible, with sessions tailored to your goals and pace.
Each session focuses on building knowledge, material development, reflection, and next steps.
You can book:
- A one-off session
- Block sessions
- Longer-term mentorships over 6 or 12 months
Some clients have a set goal, exhibition, or product range they are working towards, with a specific deadline. Others come to explore new materials, rethink processes, or explore multiple projects over a longer time frame. Wherever your focus lies, we can adapt a programme to suit you.
What You’ll Gain
- Confidence working with waste-based materials
- A local waste ecology that feeds into your practice
- Bespoke glazes and clay bodies
- A strong narrative for your practice
- Work positioned for real-world impact
- Strategic clarity and direction
- Practical, sustainable approaches to making
Inquire
If you’re interested in working together, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me with a short background about your current practice, your goals, any funding context, and the kind of support you’re looking for. From there, we can arrange an enquiry call to explore what this could look like for you and how I can best support your journey.