CAROspace | Illyria Pottery, 104 Walton St
When did it all start?
I opened Illyria Pottery in Greenville, South Carolina in 2008 and moved the business to Oxford, UK in 2013.
How long have you been making pottery?
Over 10 years. Professionally, about 8.
Why did you move to England?
We’ve been in Oxford for over 3 years now, and we made the move so that my husband, Micah Coston, could read for the DPhil in English Literature (St Edmund Hall).
Do you have other employees?
We have a wonderful internship program with The Ruskin (Oxford’s art school). Interestingly, The Ruskin offers their students clay, but there is no option to firing work or receiving tuition in the medium. We accept 5–6 interns per term to assist me in the shop and studio in exchange for studio space, instruction in clay techniques, and room to fire in my kiln. It’s been a dynamic swap with mutual benefits. We’re very excited to be able to open the studio to this talented and eager group!
Where do you create and work?
All my work is made right on site in my workshop just below the shop. It couldn’t be more convenient, and how many shops today can boast that their pieces are made in house? It’s become a rarity. I love being able to take folks downstairs to show them parts of the process, or, perhaps, a half-made piece that might eventually suit their needs.
If you had to pick a favorite piece, what would it be and why?
“Tree Bowls”
I started making these pieces in honor of my father who passed away some years ago after a struggle with cancer. He loved botany and gardening. I remember him being outside nearly every Saturday planning a new area to cultivate or tending some little plant. These vessels are a sweet reminder to me of him.
Do you use this space for other events?
We don’t often hold musical events at Illyria Pottery, but we did very much enjoy hosting Christian singer/songwriters, Andrew Peterson and Eric Peters almost exactly one year ago.
Have you collaborated with any local businesses in Oxford and how has that experience been?
I’ve worked with several local businesses who have wanted bespoke collections of pottery designed for their spaces. We’re very pleased to have work in use at The Old Bank Hotel, The Old Parsonage Hotel, and The Perch.
How does it feel to be an American making your way in an Oxford community?
I was unaware before moving to Oxford that the American, “can do” attitude is an actual thing. The positivity (or at least the willingness to let people try) that’s natural to my culture isn’t always present here in England. There’s frequently an assumption that a new idea, business, etc. will fail. Well, after about 2 and a half years of business in Oxford, I’m very happy to report that creativity, hard work, and the ability to stick to a concept that you believe in, appear to be a fine recipe for reaching your goals no matter where you live!
Tell us about the cat.
After the shop was up and running, I told my husband that I wanted a studio friend. He found Lucie for me in a neighboring village. She was just eight weeks old when she came to us, and she’s grown up here the pottery. Her love of sleeping in the shop window (often inside one of my largest bowls…who could have asked for a better pottery model, right?) has quickly gained her near celebrity status in the area. I believe she may have even been referred to as “The Queen of North Oxford” by one of her adoring fans.
Every article I write on a Carospace is different. I began this project with the idea of being uniform and consistent in my writing style, but find that as each experience with the feature space is unique, each production and final reflection retains aspects of individuality as well.
Illyria Pottery has been one of my favorite collaborative spaces. A joyful few hours is the only way I can describe recording in this space. Maybe it was the perfectly overcast day with the natural light hanging into the room from the front shop window, stretching floor to ceiling.
It might have been the refreshing fact that Illyria is the first non-coffee shop we filmed in. Maybe it is the feeling of being enveloped by Illyria’s cool colors — seas of greens and blues, reminding me of a soft beach or a small clump of trees out in the middle of a wavy meadow. The space is ornamented with stoic, beautiful things, cozily crowded with art instead of coffee-lover ghosts. The overall aesthetic is extremely pleasing with refurbished furniture, textured woods, hanging designs, and earthy smells.
Or perhaps it is because I know Katie, creator of each piece that represents and defines Illyria. I can visualize her in the studio below the shop. Weighing and shaping clay, molding with her fingers and tapping with her foot on the pedal, setting intricately formed objects aside to wipe her hands and move on to the next creation.
Illyria Pottery has soul. To me, a large part of it is expressed through Katie’s trade — her dedication, diligence, attention to detail and creative imagination. Her work, simply put, is beautiful, intentional, and full of heart. You get a sense of that beauty just by being present and breathing in the atmosphere. Illyria speaks for itself, and there is rarely a person walking on Walton Street that is not drawn in by the pieces on display. They tell their own story.
So.
Visit Illyria in Jericho, if only to validate what I have said here. If you are looking for gifts, new additions to your home, or a place to not only experience artistry, but have opportunity to create and learn from a master, then you have found the perfect little space.
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