After completing a degree in product design from the Lisbon Academy of Fine Arts, Margarida M. Fernandes had two things on her mind: designing beautiful products for everyday use, and fulfilling a desire to work with her hands. So it’s no surprise that ceramics became her calling. After she finished her studies, Fernandes looked for ways to perfect her ceramics skills and applied for an internship with Danish master Ninna Gí¸tzsche. During a four-month period, Fernandes worked side-by-side with Gí¸tzsche in her studio. She later moved to Amsterdam for ceramic technique training.
Today, Fernandes works from her light-filled Lisbon studio, which she shares with her husband André (a sailor by trade). Her style is influenced by her Nordic experience, and she uses both slip-casting and wheel-throwing techniques for her pieces. “My goal is to design and create beautiful and simple ceramics, that you can use for a lifetime,” she says.
Here’s a glimpse of Fernandes’s studio and her work.
Above: Ceramic pieces on display in the MF Ceramics Studio. It took Fernandes five years of savings before setting up her own studio and kiln.
Above: The Esbelta Mug in the works. “I prefer to work with porcelain, because of its color and durability. My glaze colors are nature-inspired,” says Fernandes.
Above: Dose plates, 1/2 Dose Plates, and N2 Bowls–all in white glazed porcelain made from slipcasts. “The green cup was brought to me from a customer, and is sitting on top of a block of Paris plaster, ready to be sculpted to create a model inspired by the green cup,” says Fernandes.
Above: Fernandes offers a Monogram Collection. These plates were custom-made for a client in Spain.
Above: A porcelain teapot with a cork lid, inspired by a vintage enamel pot (MF Ceramics also offers a Tea Set).
Above: A cup and saucer in white porcelain with cobalt speckles.
Above: Occasionally Fernandes works on tile restoration for the city of Lisbon.
Above: Fernandes glazing one of her bowls. Photograph by Vera Marmelo.
Above: Margarida and André in their Lisbon studio. Fernandes accepts orders via [email protected]. To see more of her work, visit the MF Ceramics Instagram page. Photograph by Marta Greber for her blog What Should I Eat for Breakfast Today.
For more ceramic inspiration, see:
- 10 Easy Pieces: Handmade Dinnerware from Ceramics
- Ceramic Table Lamps from an LA Modernist
- Required Reading: Tile Makes the Room: Good Design from Heath Ceramics
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