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Tournesol is thrilled to offer the delightful collection of ceramics by Mustardseed & Moonshine.  The designs are exquisite...nature's gifts!

Mustardseed & Moonshine was founded by Kate Carlyle in Cape Town, South Africa in 1992 to celebrate her love of the botanical form. The idea was to make beautiful ceramic flowers that were both usable and lasting, flowers that were meticulously crafted, and yet simultaneously robust and functional.

Kate is a fascinating woman...here are her answers to our Meet the Designer questionaire:

What attracted you to this craft?  Why do you find it interesting? Who or what was your inspiration?

I was never trained in ceramics at all, in fact I was trained in Graphic Design and my passion was packaging.  The ceramics came into play when I wanted to create things for myself and my home. The nearest medium happened to be clay (my mother loved the medium).  When my home was featured in a magazine a couple of interior designers saw the items and VOILA!  

I think my inspiration was always the slightly more romantic of the Art Nouveau period, Gaudi and Karl Blossfeldt. One of the most tangible references I can make was seeing the Harvard Glass Flowers at a very early age and being fascinated at the delicate detail.

Were you always interested in designing what you currently design or did the opportunity just present itself?

I am never stuck on one particular idea, but I think living in South Africa and in Cape Town, in particular, you are always close to nature, always aware of colour and texture so I flow with that and flowers and botanical reference alwys just seem to be prevelant. 

How does your product reflect current trends - or traditions - in entertaining styles?  How do you see people using your product? 

I hope that people see Mustardseed &  Moonshine as completely USABLE and functional and use it everyday.  We try to keep up with current fashions in entertainment...big coffee culture...then espresso cups are the vogue...big meze fashion...then platters and small bowls may be the new items.

What makes your product unusual, versatile and of higher quality than others?  What is your favorite aspect of the product?

The fact that the items are completely usable either with food or empty vessels serving as a centre piece on a table or feature in a kitchen, bedroom, lounge, boudoir means we will always satisfy a need.  The items are also botanically correct..we may play with the shape a little to make it more functional but colour, petals and names are genuine...so we bridge the gap from garden to table.  We make our own clay recipe with strength and elasticity in mind so our products are very high fired and durable, dishwasher and oven safe.

What  has been one of your favorite places that you have visited? 

The Cederberg Mountains, about 5 hours from Cape Town plus...a very extreme landscape, from lunar landscape to the Valley of the Gods and plant life specific ONLY to that region...a lonely and exciting place.  The Cederberg has extreme landscape, from Valley of the Gods...huge stone arches...Maltese cross, a perennial plant...rivers...and lunar landscape on top of the Sneeuberg Nature Reserve.

Is there somewhere you have not visited that you hope to see one day?

Far too many!

Is there anything that you want the customers who purchase your products to know that they may not have realized?

How much handwork and personal effort has gone into each piece.  Seventeen pairs of hands go into EACH and EVERY piece.  Because we create a loving environment in the studio with every person here (40 people), each piece is made with passion and love.

  

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