{"id":2622,"date":"2025-09-16T01:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2025\/09\/16\/creative-compound-a-ceramic-artist-couple-at-home-and-work-in-the-french-countryside\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T01:00:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:00:28","slug":"creative-compound-a-ceramic-artist-couple-at-home-and-work-in-the-french-countryside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/es\/creative-compound-a-ceramic-artist-couple-at-home-and-work-in-the-french-countryside\/","title":{"rendered":"Compuesto creativo: Una pareja de ceramistas en casa y trabajando en la campi\u00f1a francesa"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ceramic artists Justine and Jean Hay de Slades\u2019 rustic home and studio in France\u2019s Haute Saintonge were years in the making. First, Justine had to establish her line of bone-white porcelain that she calls Epure\u2014the exquisitely simple wares are what first caught our eye: see Made In a Barn in France.<\/p>\n

Success enabled Jean to join the business in 2014: he oversees production. And recently the family bought a parcel of land with two decrepit 19th-century structures on it that enabled them to build their ideal live-work setup for themselves and their young daughter, Alma. \u201cIt\u2019s a small wood house with many windows and a lot of light,\u201d Justine tells us. \u201cWe don\u2019t need or want a lot of space for living, but our atelier is twice the size, with limestone walls and old fireplaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the color white pervades both buildings, along with a lot of handmade touches: Justine and Jean\u2019s fingerprints are on every surface and if you look closely, you can also spot their cat\u2019s paw prints memorialized in clay.<\/p>\n

Photography by Jean Hay de Slade, courtesy of Epure.<\/p>\n

The House<\/h3>\n


Above: Justine and Jean redesigned what had been a bake house dating from the early 19th century into a board-and-batten cottage inspired by the fisherman\u2019s houses of Cap Ferret, where they lived 10 years ago. The structure\u2019s only original parts are three stone walls. <\/p>\n

Haute Saintonge is in the Charente-Maritime, on the southwest coast of France between Bordeaux and Cognac. \u201cIt\u2019s a place where you can breath,\u201d says Justine, who, having formerly lived and worked in the same building, felt very ready for a division of labor.<\/p>\n


Above: Justine and Jean did all of the design work\u2014\u201dwith pencil on paper, the old-fashioned way\u201d\u2014and recruited Justine\u2019s very handy father along with some local tradespeople to help with the construction work. \u201cWe wanted a cozy, ecological house, minimalist too,\u201d says Justine.,<\/p>\n

The stove is a French-made Supra\u2014it and two radiators (in Alma\u2019s room and the bath) heat the whole house. The new floor is painted concrete.<\/p>\n


Above: Jean built the living room daybeds out of wood from the old roof, and the couple installed the horizontally-oriented windows themselves. \u201cThis is where we read and drink wine\u2014Bordeaux, of course,\u201d says Justine. The painted carpet is by Mathilde Labrouche of Cot\u00e9 Pierre.
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Above: Jean incorporated an old door into his design for the kitchen china cupboard.
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Above: The kitchen cabinets are redwood stained brown and detailed with tiles of white-glazed black clay that the couple made themselves. The Limoge porcelain Point Suspension Lights are a longstanding Epure design.
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Above: The couple say they were very happy when their cat left its prints on the kitchen tiles as they were being made. The favorite cooking pot on the shelf is stone by Soh Style of Korea.,

Above: Jean built the food cupboard from weathered old wood. The painted walls downstairs are in Farrow & Ball Drop Cloth.
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Above: The kitchen table and door came from antiques shops. Epure\u2019s Linen Vase is from a collection of made-to-order pieces textured with linen. A carpenter friend built the stair to the couple\u2019s design enclosed with battens.
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Above: The bedrooms are paneled in pine boards salvaged from the roof and have wooden floors painted, like the homemade headboard, in Farrow & Ball\u2019s Skimming Stone. The chair pillow is by Khadi & Co.
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Above: Alma\u2019s bed is a 1950s design passed down from her grandfather. The duvet is from Garbo & Friends and the Flock Mobile is by Bookhou of Toronto.,<\/p>\n

The Studio<\/h3>\n


Above: Known as a Charentaise, the early 19th-century building pre-dates the house and is constructed of whitewashed local limestone. It was originally lived in by a multigenerational family of farmers who worked in the vineyards of Cognac. The attached stable, behind the vegetable garden, is the couple\u2019s next project: they plan to turn it into an apartment for renters and visiting clients and friends.
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Above: Justine and Jean in their glazing room, newly plastered by Justine\u2019s father (with the original chiseled stone door surround preserved). The house\u2019s renovated interior is 200 square meters (2,000-plus square feet), divided into several work areas plus a showroom.
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Above: The couple make Epure\u2019s molds and package orders in a space that had been two bedrooms. Local masons rebuilt the exposed stone wall; the couple did all of the wiring with Justine\u2019s father. The Point Conical Suspension Light is an Epure design.,

Above: Justine and Jean are currently developing a line of tableware for a local Cognac brand. A mood board and samples in progress are shown here. The table is oak and porcelain\u2014\u201dit\u2019s handmade by us and customizable for our clients.\u201d
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Above: Jean pours liquid clay into a slip cast mold for a cup. Epure is currently just Jean and Justine, plus an apprentice.
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Above: Justine glazes Canele Cups in front of a preserved old wall \u201clike a sky.\u201d
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Above: Alma loves to play in the office\u2014\u201dit\u2019s her doll kitchen.\u201d The fireplace was a surprise unveiled behind a demolished wall. \u201cWe cleaned and painted the room in white lime and lined the floor with sisal,\u201d says Justine.
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Above: The mantel in Justine\u2019s office displays an Epure collage.
Above: Justine\u2019s desk is a vintage table that she partly painted white, lit by a sculptural Lampe Gras Clamp Light. Jean added the antique double doors and built the shelves with a friend. <\/p>\n

Follow Epure\u2019s latest @epure.ceramique.<\/p>\n

We are eternally inspired by artist\u2019s quarters. Here are three more favorites:<\/p>\n