About the service
I throw butter dishes and cheese dishes with lids on the pottery wheel — small ceramic pieces for the table, not for food storage in the pantry. If you were looking for a ceramic cookie jar or a set of canisters for dry goods — that's a separate commission in my portfolio: there you'll find tall containers for flour, sugar, or cookies. A butter dish or cheese dish is a compact table piece: a shallow base and a domed or arched lid that covers a butter stick or cheese wedge, keeping them fresh right on the table.
Each piece begins with a lump of stoneware or porcelain centered on the wheel. First, I pull up the base and make sure the edge sits cleanly under the lid, then I form the dome or arch separately so both halves fit together tightly, without any play — this is the most delicate part of the work, and I trim and adjust each lid by hand before firing. The handle or knob on the lid I pull or shape so it's comfortable to grip, not just for decoration.
You can order a size for a standard butter stick, a wider dish for European-style butter or soft cheese, or a large dome for a small whole cheese head. I offer different glazes: matte white, warm speckled ceramic, deep cobalt, sage green, or reactive glaze that spreads beautifully across the dome curves — and I'm happy to match a shade to your existing tableware or a sample you send. All the glazes I use are food-safe and dishwasher-safe after firing.
The work includes: consultation on size, form, and glaze; pulling and trimming the base and lid; bisque and glaze firing; photographs at the raw clay stage, after bisque firing, and of the finished piece, so you see the process. Because each piece is hand-formed rather than cast in a mold, no two butter dishes ever come out exactly identical — it's this handmade uniqueness that makes such a commission more precious than something store-bought. I pack the finished piece carefully for shipping, and for a gift or complete table service I'm happy to make a matching pair.
Each piece begins with a lump of stoneware or porcelain centered on the wheel. First, I pull up the base and make sure the edge sits cleanly under the lid, then I form the dome or arch separately so both halves fit together tightly, without any play — this is the most delicate part of the work, and I trim and adjust each lid by hand before firing. The handle or knob on the lid I pull or shape so it's comfortable to grip, not just for decoration.
You can order a size for a standard butter stick, a wider dish for European-style butter or soft cheese, or a large dome for a small whole cheese head. I offer different glazes: matte white, warm speckled ceramic, deep cobalt, sage green, or reactive glaze that spreads beautifully across the dome curves — and I'm happy to match a shade to your existing tableware or a sample you send. All the glazes I use are food-safe and dishwasher-safe after firing.
The work includes: consultation on size, form, and glaze; pulling and trimming the base and lid; bisque and glaze firing; photographs at the raw clay stage, after bisque firing, and of the finished piece, so you see the process. Because each piece is hand-formed rather than cast in a mold, no two butter dishes ever come out exactly identical — it's this handmade uniqueness that makes such a commission more precious than something store-bought. I pack the finished piece carefully for shipping, and for a gift or complete table service I'm happy to make a matching pair.
