Kiln launched September 2020. Having spent the first UK lockdown in an Airbnb, homeless whilst waiting for my house purchase to complete, and little did I know, soon to be jobless too. I spent my time furloughed from life designing the interiors of other people’s homes by turning my attention to what was soon to be my own. A 1630s farmhouse. It was always going to be important to me to embrace the character and age of the building. This was new territory from my previous day job, and I was instantly hooked by the process of sourcing vintage and antique pieces. Finding things for my home that were unique with heaps of history was exciting and bringing me so much joy.

Whilst the Airbnb started to fill with antique cabinets, preloved tables, and salvaged benches all to be taken with us to the new house, I was also desperately sourcing a large olive pot for my future garden. But as with many other antiques, I had found it hard to source within my price range.
I saw it as an opportunity to delve deeper with my research, and within weeks I had met so many lovely and supportive contacts in the antiques world that everything started to fall into place. I’m a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and so when I was then made redundant it was a no brainer to put my all into Kiln.

The aim with Kiln has always been to make antique pieces more accessible, by keeping my business small and by giving a platform to these authentic, old pieces in place of the mass produced “aged-look” pots that have entered the market over the past few years.

More about Kiln

I had noticed during my time as an Interior Designer in the years previous to Kiln, that there was an emerging trend coming from the States. The likes of Studio McGee and Amber Interiors were using antiques to style their new build projects. My vision was to style Kiln to appeal to both the traditional buyers living in period homes but also a newly emerging market of more contemporary tastes embracing an ‘old meets new’ movement.

Born from the respect I was giving to the craftsmanship of my old farmhouse and my discovery of so many beautiful potential homewares already in existence, Kiln’s ethos is focused on extending the lifespan of salvaged artisan-made pieces to furnish our interiors sustainably and timelessly. I believe there should be a connection to each piece we introduce to our interiors, and the unique charm of antique pieces has a special way of achieving an authentic and personally shaped home.

More on Kilns Values

Besides Kiln’s entire product range being one-of-a-kind, I am a one-woman business running all departments –  branding, website design, photography, marketing. I know I am not unique in this, but I couldn’t do it all without the passion I have for the pieces I sell. I think this genuine love for what I do shows through, Kiln is me as much as I am Kiln.

I have always felt my purpose is to help people create homes within their houses. It’s why from a young age I knew I wanted to be a designer. It’s taken a while to find my place within the interiors industry where I can do that best, and Kiln allows me to help on a personal level to find special pieces best complemented to homeowners and their homes.

Kiln has a core look that is neutral, earthy, and muted and embraces natural authentic finishes and patina.

Its super important that every piece sourced has its own story to tell. Besides the aesthetic, it is the evidence of history that really sets Kiln pieces apart.

I strongly feel there is a place for everything I source - Kiln pots have the potential to work within traditional, to the most contemporary of spaces. And what is cohesive throughout all is the use of organic textures, natural materials, and ultimately the inviting feeling of a cosy home.

More on the Qualities of Kiln’s Pots

The majority of Kiln pieces originate from Turkey.

The terracotta pots were originally handmade to store olive oil and grains through the early 20th Century.

More recently made redundant, they end up in what I call the Terracotta Graveyards. 

Kiln uses UK suppliers who import by the container load from local chaps in Turkey.

I then source from the shipments as soon as possible after arrival – (this is my happy place).

Each Kiln piece is hand-chosen for its charm, signs of age, character, tone, size and shape.

I also source for personal requests from customers who have reached out wanting something specific.

Then the rather dull task of loading, unloading into my storeroom at home and documenting each new piece. 

Pots get scrubbed clean, both inside and out. Some require more TLC than others. It’s important at this stage to not lose any of the integral character and inherent signs of age. Boot brushes, sand paper, metal scrappers alongside a cup of tea are the tools of my trade.

It is during this time that I begin curating the collections - the aim for some collections is to offer variety, whilst with others I look to create a particular mood within a more cohesive collection.

Kilns major support of sustainability is that every piece is salvaged, reclaimed, repurposed and rehomed. Each of Kiln’s pieces were originally thrown on the potters wheel 70+yrs previous, and their age shows, but in celebrating traditional craftsmanship we reduce the need for the ‘perfection’ of mass production. Antiques and second-hand homewares have seen a resurgence and rebranding in recent years and I am so here for it! And as our attitudes to the way in which we shop evolve to be more mindful of our environmental impact, choosing to furnish our homes in a timeless style with pieces of a long-life span is such a positive step to achieving this. 

I have a responsibility as a retailer to do what I can to avoid negativity impacting our planet – it’s a challenge we should be embracing. All of Kiln’s packaging is reused – boxes and packing materials – all from our own renovation, friends/family, and local businesses. I am a little bit proud to say I have never once bought a single new box! Packing tape and labels are also all recyclable, but my preference where possible is to reuse – it is core to Kilns values.

Kiln is very much about the people and the pots!

I am proud to be part of a super online community. The majority of my customers follow Kiln through Instagram @kilnhome. It is fundamental to marketing my business but it’s also an extension of Kiln which has really helped me to establish as a brand in a personal and engaging way. I love to connect with and help my customers and I am genuinely always so honoured and grateful when they trust in me with sourcing pots for their homes. It is such a positive process to find beautiful and personal pieces, and a real joy to share in the vision that our interiors should be an expression of us and those we share them with. My customers are my customers because they believe in this too.

The community Kiln is part of has supported and guided me as my business has evolved and I am super proud of everything Kiln stands for and how I run things today.

Shipping! With each piece varying in size and shape, there is no “one size fits all” box when it comes to packing Kiln orders. And with pots being fragile, I double box all orders – so multiply that problem by two!!

It’s also the nature of selling one-of-a-kind pieces that each item from a collection is photographed individually, as true to life as possible and listed with personal dimensions and description detailing any particulars. It’s a slow process that has to be repeated and tailored to each item but one that is super important when selling pieces so unique.

Kiln was created from an evolution of a passion and it continues to be run in that way. I’d love to think that I will still be selling pots and lamps 5 years from now. And to continue to help furnish homes in a timeless and personal manner.

I would love if more garden enthusiasts would discover Kiln this year. Antique olive pots work just as well outdoors, even in the UK! so to see more Kiln pots in gardens would be great! How Antique pots can work in the Garden

I would also like to make something of the Event Hire Service I launched at the end of 2022. My aim has always been to make these pots as accessible as possible and the hire service does exactly that. It’s
perfect for styling big parties, weddings and for photoshoot hire, and for me, a super fun and sociable side of the industry to be involved with.