Kira Ni x Essence + Alchemy
There is great synergy between ceramics + candle making with their creative processes not too dissimilar; both clay and wax shrink, glaze mixing is akin to scent blending and clay blending like wax formulation. It always makes perfect sense to bring these two crafts together. Kira is an Estonian based ceramist and founder of Kira Ni Ceramics and we have teamed up for our second collaboration. I caught up with Kira to give you a little insight into her work and the story behind our Kira Ni x E+A Porcelain Jar Candle.
The Creative Journey.
Kira’s clay journey began in 2014 when she enrolled on a ceramics course at a local London community college, where she was living at the time and in 2015 Kira launched Kira Ni Ceramics with her work going from strength to strength ever since, with pieces stocked internationally and frequently shown in galleries across the world. Kira is at the forefront of her field and is always experimenting with new materials and techniques. Her work is timeless and functional and sits perfectly in any interior.
This is a very similar timeline to my own creative journey, learning candle-making in 2014 with the launch of Essence + Alchemy in 2015. We met a little after and have been cheering each other on ever since; checking in and chatting about life, work, pets and collaborations! I love that our creative timelines and processes are very similar and think that it’s very serendipitous that we connected.
Kira makes in small-batches, practicing either wheel-throwing, hand-building and more recently slip-casting techniques. Leaving the pieces predominantly unglazed, Kira explains that she prefers to leave pieces exposed and unglazed on the exterior “it adds that tactile feel of a handcrafted piece, you can see the actual colour of clay body, feel the texture and also get to see the way the piece ages”. I’ve always been a huge fan of Kira’s work, her style is unique and often very sculptural and I love the tactile nature of them, it gives each piece a sense of connection to the materials and the earth, which I find makes them the perfect companion for natural candles.
Behind the Collaboration.
This isn’t our first collaboration, a few years ago when Kira was based in Malta we worked on a small batch of small black clay hand-built jar candles in the Smoke essence. They were very well received and we couldn’t believe it when they sold out immediately. Both fans of each others work, it was only natural that we would collaborate again. This time, Kira has used slip-casting, a precise and very skilled technique of hand-pouring liquid porcelain into plaster moulds. When the porcelain has cast to the sides of the mould, the pieces are carefully removed and hand-finished before firing. Following the first firing they are then glazed and fired again. When I receive the pieces I carry out test burns which involve tweaking scent concentrations, wick size and wax formulation to work out, which formula gives the best burn and scent throw for the vessel. We are very excited about this collaboration and feel that this candle is very timely, as both the vessel and scent are perfect for summer evenings when we can begin to gather outdoors with our loved ones.
Colour, Texture + Scent Inspiration.
The colours and texture of the porcelain jars are beautiful, sand and pebble grey with plain or spotted lids like grains of sand. This compliments the Sol essence perfectly, a warming and restorative scent with a vibrant energy, a true citrus and floral fragrance with top notes of orange and geranium on a woody base of cedar. It has a beautiful lit and unlit scent throw and can instantly lift your mood.
Porcelain slip casting in Tallin, Estonia
Candle-making in Sheffield, UK
Sustainability + Reusing the Jar
Functional design and reusability are very important to both Kira and myself and as a sustainable brand, I always encourage the reuse of E+A vessels once the candle has burned away. Kira tells me that the jar is so versatile and can be used in the kitchen, bathroom or anywhere around the house “It will safely keep your jewellery, food, memories or other types of treasures, you can even use the jars to prepare foods, to store food and to use it as a drinking vessel. I use my jars to store cotton buds in the bathroom and in the kitchen, I have several jars for teas, coffee, sugar, salt etc. And my favourite jar is in the studio, for nuts and dried fruits.”
Kira Ni x E+A Porcelain Jar Candle + jar being re-used for loose tea
Kira Ni x E+A Porcelain Jar Candle + jar being re-used for green olives