David Ryan, my business partner in Stone and Sawyer, had been mulling around the idea of designing some table lamps. Over a number of months, we continued discussing the idea, possible materials, and what our goals would be. David had been a painter and creative in various media so he was familiar with the experience of being a maker, a creative, a content creator. But for me, this was the first time I realized that I could make something that I believed in, that I chose. In time, the idea began to take form. We would create a small group of ceramic table lamps with wood and metal components and source small studios and workshops to work with to produce component parts. We believed in the idea of American-made from the start, so supporting other small businesses in the process of building ours was very appealing. This didn’t work out so well . Over three years, we spent our seed money four times over in an attempt
to find reliable studios. In the winter of 2013, it became clear that we either had to abandon ceramics as a material or we had to learn how to make them ourselves. We’d been told repeatedly that creating consistent ceramic forms and finishes was not possible. But we believed that if we carefully documented every aspect of each test that sooner or later we would be able to achieve perfect vessels that were consistent, refined, and the subtlest element of hand. In two months we had consistency, and two months after that we launched with two designs in two glazes.
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