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Last time we featured Bruce Rowe of Anchor Ceramics he was just starting his business. He was a practicing architect, with a keen interest in ceramics, and at the time had just taken on a dedicated studio space to develop his craft. Back then, Bruce was experimenting with dinnerware and planters, but his business has grown significantly since then, and now encompasses lighting, tiles, and landscape pieces.
Last year, Bruce decided to step away from architecture to focus on Anchor Ceramics full-time. ‘Anchor has evolved from being a vehicle for me personally to reconnect with material and the process of making, into a design studio that is investigating the potential of a specific material’ explains Bruce. His team has now grown to four people, working across production and administration from their cosy HQ at Pop & Scott workshop in Northcote. ‘I finally managed to convince myself the risks were worth it,’ Bruce says of the decision to work for himself creatively.
Next month Bruce will explore new territory with his first exhibition of ceramic works in conjunction with Hub Furniture. Structures 2015-2016 is the result of Bruce’s combined interest in architecture, design and art, and how the three intersect. The works in this show represent architectural structures, hand cut from thick slabs of clay. ‘Each piece is an unplanned, one-off object,’ says Bruce. The exhibition itself came about as a happy accident after Jaci Foti-Lowe, owner of Hub, visited the Anchor Ceramics studio last year. Mesmerised by Bruce’s works, she advocated for the exhibition.
There’s a lot going on in the Anchor Ceramics studio at the moment. Following the exhibition will be a furniture collaboration with Grazia & Co, and a lighting range with Rakumba. ‘I want to do good work that connects with people,’ says Bruce. ‘Anchor has been built on a model that places well designed, quality products that are made by hand with love and care at the heart of its endeavour.’
‘Structures 2015-2016’ by Bruce Rowe will exhibit at Hub Furniture’s Sydney and Melbourne stores. Opening May 19th in Sydney and Melbourne. For more information visit Anchor Ceramics or Hub Furniture.
