Hey! I'm Jen, here's how Nica Libres began...  

Starting at the beginning. 

Back in 2020, pre pandemic, a friend and I decided to enrol in a 10-week evening ceramics class. This was mainly hand building with a quick messy spin on the wheel, very little guidance was offered, and I wouldn’t say this is where I fell in love with clay, but it definitely piqued my interest. 

Once things returned to semi normal in 2021, I was tired of being cooped up and decided try pottery again. This time, I took a 6-week beginners' course at Moon Studio Ceramics in Christchurch with Imogen *highly recommend* this involved all the basics and a few guided throwing sessions. I can confirm this is where I fell in love with clay. Following the course, I took a couple of ad lib sessions to explore other elements of pottery. 

Introduction to Wilhelmina  

Around the time I was learning at Moon Studio Ceramics, I was hunting for a second-hand wheel so I could practice as much as possible, I came across a very old Pilling Pottery wheel, she was around 50 years old and had seen some things. I loved her, she was noisy, clumpy, and very heavy. Much to my sisters chagrin I eventually turned her garden shed into my own little studio, where I spent almost all my evenings/lunch breaks and weekends.

Later in 2021, I joined another evening ceramics class, this was a completely DIY class and I really enjoyed getting stuck into hand building, this is where I made my first tealight houses and house decorations – I can now say I love hand building too.  

I have now invested in an old Hobbytech 40 Kiln and have upgraded to a Shimpo Whisper T wheel, both of which I adore.  

On to now and Nica Libres... 

I know it’s so cliche to turn your hobby into a small business, and it was mostly accidental. I wanted to wait until I was confident in my work before gifting pieces to family, from there it quickly progressed to being asked when items would be available to purchase, so I practiced and practiced, and eventually signed up to my first market in December 2022. 

The name Nica Libres is a perfect fit for me, it’s derived from a few places, predominantly Ben Howard, my all-time favourite musician, he has a song on the album Noonday Dream ‘Nica Libres at Dusk’. It's a beautiful song, calming with wonderful imagery, the translation from Spanish to English means ‘only free’ and as someone who loves to travel, it just feels right. It’s also a rum based cocktail, again, very me and so, I've adopted the name Nica Libres for my ceramics.

My image and inspirations 

Nica Libres is ever changing, I’m still looking for my ‘style’ and whilst I love the neutrals and fun glaze combinations, I feel like there's a whole world of options out there for me to try! My main focus right now is to create beautiful, functional and decorative pieces that can be used all around the home. I also need to remind myself that this is a form of therapy for me (which I would recommend to anyone) and that it is supposed to bring me peace, not stress!

Thank you! 

Lastly, thank you, I genuinely appreciate the love and support I receive for my pieces, it really means the world to me. 

 Jen x