Meet Harlie Brown, Ceramicist, Kent

What’s your name?

Harlie 

Where are you from?

Folkestone in Kent.

Where do you live?  

Deal on the Kent coast. 

One thing people might not know about you?

I’ve lived by the sea all my life - in Kent and Brighton. I’ll never leave the coast. Most of the year we swim every day.  As a child I first encountered clay at low tide where the seams were washed clean by the waves in a really special place called The Warren in Folkestone. I didn’t realise then that it would play such an important role in my life. 

How did you start your brand?

I spent many years experimenting with clay and developing my craft through courses, books and YouTube.  I’m continually learning! That’s something I find so fun about clay.  With time I discovered my own style and created my signature wiggle mug. I grew my brand online through social media and some virtual markets during lockdown. I suppose then some incredible buyers happened to spot me and I got picked up by retailers like Liberty, SSENSE, Selfridges and Merci.  

Have you always worked in duo with your husband?

No. We had an idea when our son was around 1 in lockdown to create a crab plate as he was obsessed with searching for crabs in the rock pools - in fact Crabe was one of his very first words! 

France has always been a special place for me and Dan - Not only did we get married in the Pyrénées-Orientales region but Dan was born in Belgium and grew up speaking French. When we could no longer travel to our favourite French spots (which was torture by the way when you can literally see the French coast from our beaches!) he designed the first in our French plate range Le Crabe and everyone went mad for it.

We now both work full time on our ceramics and keep everything in house.