Tom Butcher Stoneware

Unadorned and earthy, the pottery of Scottish ceramist Tom Butcher is inspired directly by the tumbling hills of his native Loch Lomond.

Butcher thinks up new shapes and designs for his Loch Lomond Stoneware while riding his mountain bike through the wilds of the Arrochar Alps. He makes his pottery through an extrusion process—in which clay is shaped with metal plates, then cut and assembled while wet—and finishes them with an oatmeal-colored glaze that "reminds me of the stone that surrounds my studio," he says. Rustic, but with an innate elegance, the pottery is also inspired by the simplicity of children's book illustrations and a Japanese aesthetic of "asymmetry, roughness, and the integrity of the materials," Butcher says.

Above: The Carafe is equally well-suited for orange juice, a sprig of lilac, or red wine; £24.

Above: Butcher envisioned these Stoneware Wine Cups for a nice glass of red or white. "Wine and pottery work well together," he says. "The rustic simplicity and earthiness makes wine taste good"; £9 each.

Above: The Garlic Pot is modeled in the shape of a Japanese lantern, with two holes for air circulation to keep the bulbs fresh. It's big enough to fit three heads of garlic; £17.

Above: Butcher calls his Salt Cellar "the ultimate in simplicity"; £8.50. To see the whole collection, visit Tom Butcher Ceramics.