Meet the Maker: Camden Clay
Of all the ways to cut down on screen time, installing a home pottery kiln and launching a ceramics business might seem radical. But that’s exactly what Roz Streeten, Steve Kamlish, and their daughter Sophie — a former Paralympic sprinter — did. After swapping Camden, London, for Camden Road in Bath, this creative family (best known for the Rosie Flo colouring books) now fire playful ceramics inspired by their personal obsessions.
Roz:
“As a teenager, I would attend a Saturday morning pottery class at Camden Arts Centre, in London, with three school friends. The enjoyment came from just sitting around a table, hand-modelling clay and chatting. I took it up again while at university, to escape the pain of academia, and then recently had an urge to return to it. So I went along to evening classes at Bath College, purely for pleasure.”
Roz:
“The kiln sits under the street. Our house has an underground vault which can’t be used for much else – it’s damp, but has good ventilation. We’ve always worked from home, but now it’s gloriously much less screen-based. Working with clay doesn’t feel like work at all – it’s pure pleasure, mixed with excitement, jeopardy and frustration. I rarely feel satisfied, which means I have to make another pot to try and get the next one perfect.”
Roz:
“Steve and Sophie are both creative so I didn’t notice that I did any teaching – but I may have a default mode, as I’ve taught illustration at Bath Spa for the last 12 years. Our two daughters were the inspiration for Rosie Flo, so it feels natural to be sitting around the table again with at least one of them.”
Sophie:
“I’m planning my next collection of character plates, which will involve them participating in different sports. I haven’t mixed sporting imagery with ceramics like I have with my illustration work, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes.”
Roz:
“After drawing so many characters for the Rosie Flo books, where none of them have faces, I’m now drawing faces onto clay heads relentlessly. When we visited Sicily years ago, the tourist shops were littered with these head pots. After recently coming across some more eccentric ones, it got me thinking that I’d like to have a go. I never decide until the last moment whether they’ll be female, or if I’ll pop on a moustache.”
Steve:
“My inspiration comes from many sources. My grandad collected WWII posters, which are beautifully simple in design and message. I sometimes tap into the Russian Constructivists, and the film titles of Saul Bass. My way into ceramics was through my love of words, films and typography – I’ll use quotes from classic films and TV, right up to recent series like The Bear or Succession.”
Steve:
“Ceramics was Roz’s thing and I had no interest at all, even when Roz bought a kiln after a few terms of evening classes. But when she was joined by our daughter Sophie, creating stuff at the kitchen table, that’s when the FOMO kicked in.”
Browse Camden Clay’s wares at Frome Independent Market or online at camdenclay.co.uk.
