Meet_the maker
Siofra Murdock - founder of Thowing Shapes, community ceramics studio
A Little about your work life story?
I was working as an art director in advertising when I first started doing ceramics on the side - just something I loved. But it wasn’t until I met two people from Portland, Oregon who were running a similar community pottery studio over there that the idea really clicked. They had opened multiple spaces and still had a loyal audience, even in a competitive city. They were basically like, “You should just open one in Dublin!” So I did.
I’d always wanted to start a business - my dad’s been self-employed my whole life - so that part felt natural. I ended up quitting my job and getting accepted onto a ceramics course in Barcelona - Corrie Bain. It’s sort of like the Ballymaloe of pottery studios - designed to help people set up their own spaces. Then I moved to London to get real studio experience. The idea was to open something before someone else did, but it still took about two years from the moment I quit to the studio opening.
What’s the pottery scene like in London?
London’s pottery scene is so well-established. There’s such a deep tradition there some of the best studio potters to ever live, like Bernard Leech and Lucie Rie, worked in the UK. It has a rich history of ceramics and incredible art schools, so there’s just so much to learn.
If you’re in London, I’d recommend Turning Earth (they’ve got five studios now), The Kiln Rooms, and Mud gang It’s such a diverse scene - some spaces focus on mindfulness, others on high-level production, some just on gas firing. In big cities, that rural/urban balance is a real thing - people need creative spaces where they can make things with their hands, especially when they don’t have the space at home.
We’ve built a real crew at the studio, so a lot of socialising happens there.
— Throwing Shapes community ceramics studio founder Siofra Murdock
Is there a typical work day?
Mondays are sacred - they’re for my own practice. No meetings, no classes, just me making work and maybe loading kilns. The rest of the week is more about managing the day-to-day. We’re open from 10 to 6, Monday to Friday, and there’s a team of 17 now, so I’m mostly in oversight mode - planning, designing, future-proofing. At the moment I’m working on a residency and graduate programme in partnership with Staycity. We’re also making a short film about it.
Tell us about Cape Clear — it looked magical.
It came about through Simon, one of our teachers, who lives on the island. We hosted our first weekend retreat there last September, and it’s grown from there. The participants make work at Throwing Shapes, then we transport it to Cape Clear for glaze firing in wood, gas, soda, or raku kilns - all built by Simon himself. There’s also wild clay hand-building with locally foraged materials.
It’s not just about the pottery though. A lot of our members are new to Ireland and don’t have strong social circles. The retreat gives them this really special space to connect. People leave with proper friendships. And the work that comes out of the kilns down there is just completely different - more organic, more unexpected.
And when you’re not in studio work mode?
We’ve built a real crew at the studio, so a lot of socialising happens there. We’re always bumping into each other at gigs or festivals - recently it was Charlie XCX and Primavera. I also love sea swimming, hiking, yoga, and a lot of gardening - though the garden is completely wild now. It’s the survival of the fittest out there. I’m not interested in overly maintaining it - it’s just free and doing its thing. I find that really therapeutic.
I also love cooking and I spend a lot of time sitting on my roof when the weather’s good. It’s those little quiet moments I really enjoy.
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Honestly? Japan. Everything from their pottery traditions to their uniforms to their architecture. I’m in a full-blown rabbit hole. I’m hoping to go next year for a firing workshop. I also love the work of my friend who runs Argot a Paris-based studio that makes 3D-printed bags and vases. She’s actually living in Japan at the moment with her husband and baby, so I’m living vicariously.
Is there a favourite way to wear your Overall?
Always with a pop of colour peeking out from the collar, usually a big turtleneck, plus some oversized clogs and wide trousers. I get compliments on it constantly — the people in the studio are obsessed. I haven’t washed mine yet because I’m curious to see how the wear and tear adds to it. I kind of like it more crumpled and lived-in.
At the moment, I’m working on Clay City a local residency and graduate programme in partnership with Staycity.
— Siofra Murdock, about the new Clay City partnership initiative, just launched
Photos all thanks to Throwing Shapes.
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Over the last two years we have enjoyed watching so many people wearing their Abito overalls - for everything from pottery and gardening to cooking, writing, and partying. So we are sharing their work life stories, inspirations and musings each month in this Journal, in the hope that you will be inspired by meeting them and enjoy their musings too.
Thanks so much Siofra, Throwing Shapes is such a "‘special space to connect’. And thank you for reading.
Catherine & Eve Anne