You can safely sit on Max Lamb’s ceramic chairs for 1882 Ltd

Max Lamb is attempting to nail the design of functional ceramic furniture pieces at the UK workshops of 1882 Ltd. But pieces seem to be spontaneously crumbling, while others emerge from the kiln cracked and are launched directly into the skip. These behind-the-scenes moments, captured as the designer works with the ceramic brand’s fearless creative director, Emily Johnson, to create a ceramic seat you can safely sit on, demonstrate the steely resilience of material maestro Lamb and his co-conspirator. Together, they are on a mission to master the capriciousness of this age-old material when worked at scale.

‘Crockery’ by Max Lamb and 1882 Ltd at Gallery Fumi

‘Crockery’ – a series of ceramic chairs and stools – is the outcome of their efforts. Currently on show at London’s Gallery Fumi, the confident, sculptural pieces conceal the complexity of their creation.

Aesthetically, the seating designs in white, black and soft pink earthenware extend the tableware ceramics that Lamb developed when Johnson first took creative control of the family kilns some 14 years ago. His haphazardly-hewn jug, bowls, and mugs set the tone for Johnson’s new venture – combining centuries of pottery expertise, both artisanal and industrial – with groundbreaking contemporary design.

Johnson grew up well-versed in the ceramic production of Stoke on Trent, where the Johnson Brothers pottery has been based since 1882. But she is also complicit with the cohort of leading designers she has engaged to work with her. 'Emily Johnson is not your normal manufacturer!' Lamb says emphatically. It is clear that the decision to crack the construction conundrum of a workable ceramic chair was a shared one, and followed years of mulling the idea together.

'The thing about these chairs is they look like they are a solid piece, but they are not,' says Johnson. 'They are four pieces of slip-cast ceramic that are stuck together with what we call “stick-up” clay.' The process began with Lamb creating the forms he would work with by using a hammer and chisel to chip away at plaster blocks. It produces an irregular textured surface as he works. These were then used to make slip moulds. The seat, the back, and the legs are cast as separate pieces, and then fettled together with liquid slip and a knife, which in expert hands, reinstates the chisel-carved surface seamlessly across the joins.

Drying lasts up to five weeks – and takes place naturally, in stable conditions that allow no air movement around them. The chairs are then fired at 1,140°C. 'What is quite astounding and original about them is that all the joined pieces are, in essence, hollow. It really takes the combined centuries of knowledge of all those in the factory to achieve this,' says Johnson.

While Lamb has a longstanding relationship with Fumi, this is the first time the London gallery has worked with 1882 Ltd. 'To be potters now creating work for galleries such as Fumi is pretty special,' says Johnson. There is no doubt, however, that the daring, pioneering nature of this challenging project deserves such a platform.

‘Crockery’ by Max Lamb and 1882 Ltd is on view at Gallery Fumi until 30 September 2025

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