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. 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 good 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 

My first pottery wheel! Around the time I was learning at Moon Studio Ceramics, I was hunting for a second-hand wheel so I could get as much practice 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 chargrin I eventually turned her potting shed into my own little studio, where I spent almost all my evenings/days/lunch breaks and weekends.

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

I’ve now invested in a kiln and have upgraded to a Shimpo Whisper T, both of which I adore. I really appreciate it, if you’ve made it this far... 

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 more confident in my work before I started gifting pieces to family, it progressed to people asking me if I would be selling and 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 but if you break down the meaning of Nica Libres the translation from Spanish to English means ‘only free’ 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 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 (which I would recommend to everyone) and that it is supposed to bring 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