Our Clay
Our clay comes from our family quarry in Navarre. Its high quality and plasticity allow us to create endless forms.
To achieve this, the clay undergoes a multi-stage transformation.
Extraction
The clay comes from the family quarry in Navarre. In order to guarantee that it is homogeneous we take the clay from different strata of the quarry.The clay is then weathered for about a year: this stage improves its elasticity because any organic matter (traces of plants and wood) rots down. Its high quality and plasticity enables us to create an infinite number of shapes.
The ball mill
The raw clay is broken up in a ball mill and ends up as a fine dust.
Removing the iron
It is then passed through a screen to remove any large particles. Then magnets are used to remove all traces of iron.
Wetting
Depending on how the pots are going to be made, a specific amount of water is added to the powdered clay to make it more or less malleable. Clay that is going to be pressed needs 10% of its volume in water, whereas clay that is going to be shaped by hand or centrifuged will need 20 to 30%. At this stage, the clay is perfectly malleable but it still cannot be used as it is.
Extrusion
This is the last stage in preparing the clay before shaping. It involves extracting the air from the mixture, so as to obtain dense and compact blocks of clay.