founder and maker
Kate Butler is a designer maker specialising in sustainably-made homewares and decorative objects.
Trained in event management, radio production and as a former BBC publicist, Kate also founded a service to help support independent musicians – an endeavour inspired by the years she spent working with Anthony H Wilson. She credits Tony with teaching her that work doesn’t have to be a four-letter word!
She has a grown-up son and lives in Reddish, Stockport where she served as a local councillor for more than 10 years. Her studio is located in the heart of Stockport town centre’s creative quarter.
Background
One Week Last Summer (OWLS) was born out of a seminal moment for Kate; the summer her mum passed away. With her son away at university she found herself suddenly without day to day caring responsibilities for the first time in a couple of decades.
Inspired by the Joni Mitchell instrumental One Week Last Summer, based on rediscovering her love of the piano, Kate reawakened her own creative side.
‘I felt the need to rediscover my creativity; to somehow express myself that I’d forgotten was important to me. I just love the intense focus needed for creating something from start to finish; the research; the daydreaming; the testing new ideas; the final unique object in my hands.’
The Making Process
After working with clay and developing a ceramics practice, Kate wanted to find a way of making vessels and sculptural objects without a kiln.
After months of experimenting, she successfully devised a way of making fine-walled concrete vessels using pulped paper as the main aggregate.
Her first collection used genuine post-consumer waste paper and a dash of pure white Portland cement for strength, stability and longevity. These pieces are richly textured, unpainted and sealed and varnised with high performance, environmentally friendly products.
Latest Collection
Her latest collection, like the first, is focused on form and function, with classic, modular shapes but with the added dopamine hit of colour to bring life to the prevalence of neutral interiors against the backdrop of her strong sculptural shapes.
With this collection, Kate has developed a way of using even less than the tiny amounts of cement in her concrete formula by substituting in small amounts of lime.
‘The beauty of lime lies in its ability to gradually reabsorb the CO2 released in its original manufacture. It’s not easy to work with and takes longer to cure but it’s worth the wait and the hassle and makes for a more sustainable practice.’
Kate is currently working on her new collection which will focus on reinterpreting her approach to modularity, form, function, colour and texture.