Your Cart is Empty
I started Carter + Rose in 2015 with the intention of creating a space to sell my art, but without an idea of what that art was. As a ceramicist, using clay was such a natural material to work with. I experimented with different product ideas, and my direction toward design was informed by the idea of creating homewares and home decor because stores sell products, and I needed to pay rent!
Interestingly, I never really questioned what I created, I just kept making all kinds of things- weird, ugly, simple, recycled, and cute. I used customer interest as the gauge for how to move forward with products that seemed like they would sell. I loved watching customers interact with all the different things I made and I was careful to keep track of what they were interested in and what were clearly total design flops.
The wall planter was the first real Carter + Rose product that stuck. I designed it to hold air plants or dried arrangements, and it was meant to be a perfect gift, or a way to bring some greenery to a gallery wall. The wall planter quickly became a customer favorite and soon, other stores were interested in selling them too. Creating wall planters for wholesale was my deep-end-dive introduction to the idea of designing for large scale production. Wholesale was a world I knew very little about, and it was clear right away that I needed a production routine to make sure that the wall planters were consistent. I started weighing out the clay, figuring out glaze application, and creating systems for the hand building process.
I've now had Carter + Rose for 10 years, and throughout those years, I have always thought of myself as a "maker" or a "craftsperson." When people ask me if I am an artist, I say, "hmmmm, no, I make things."
In my mind there is a clear distinction between "craft" and "art." For me, the craft of Carter + Rose has been the hours and hours of time spent creating seemingly simple products. Often, I am amazed when I see an original wall planter, or one of the first clay snakes I made. Now, they seem crude and lumpy. But when I think back to their inception, the eyes I saw them through only saw their potential and interesting beauty. These new ideas made me excited withpossibility. As a "maker" I honed in on the ways these products could be refined, redesigned, thoughtfully packaged, and worked into wholesale production. I spent days and days discovering how to create and recreate, how to master the repetition of a handmade product.
Earlier this year, my brother and I had an opportunity to create a show for Urbanite in their gallery space. Initially, I was overcome with excitement. But then, honestly, the dread sunk in. I began to doubt myself and wonder what I had gotten myself into. The gallery space was huge. And I was supposed to make "art." What did that even mean? My brain had been hardwired for production and wholesale for the past 10 years, so the idea of using materials and time to just create felt a bit frivolous and overwhelming.
Having my brother (an artist) as a collaborator to bounce ideas around with helped. And having a deadline helped even more. I walked the Urbanite space and really thought about how it could be transformed. I began to merge the idea of art and product. I began to see that by stepping outside of my comfort zone, I was going to be pushed to make things I could not even envision yet. I had to trust myself. And I had to believe that I was a maker. And an artist.
The Urbanite show filled me up. Not just because I really loved the art I made, but because I was able to work through the feelings of mystery, doubt and nervousness about how I could proceed into a space of creativity that was so unfamiliar. It was because of the Urbanite show that I had the confidence to do my Budapest residency (here's a link to the blog). As I created for the Urbanite show, I began to see myself, a little bit outside myself, as an artist.
On September 20th, I will have a booth at Nest Fest, a Willamette Week event bringing together Portland's creative community and celebrating home design in the Goat Blocks: 1030 SE 10th Ave. As I thought about my booth for the event, I initially thought about just selling my clay snakes and wall planters. But then I realized I could create a Carter + Rose space that embodies both the "artist" and "maker."
So, I am excited to merge my clay production and ceramic art at Nest Fest. And, I am looking forward to the challenge of creating a space where these different ways of working with clay can coexist and enhance one another.
When I think about the definitions of "art" and "making," I have started to understand that with Carter + Rose I have the platform for art and product to exist together. My Carter + Rose production can be intersectional, and I can be both an artist and a maker.
Are you a designer? Are you a relator? Do you love home decor or handmade wares? There will be something for you at Nest Fest! I hope to see you there from 10-5.