In parallel with her profession as a fashion designer, Lola Mayeras developed a creative universe that uses clay as the main material. She approaches her designing process like a clothing collection, combining recognizable shapes and objects into playful and colorful new designs.
lolamayeras.com // www.instagram.com/lolamayeras
Photography by NAHMLOS (Bram van Dijk)
www.nahmlos.com / www.instagram.com/nahmlos
Inspired by her ceramicist father and infused with the light of the south of France, Lola Mayeras created each piece of her collection by hand. Her first series arose from combining vivid colors and diverted shapes into a whimsical and joyful universe.
What’s the story behind Lola Mayeras?
During my childhood I was introduced to the art of making ceramics in the pottery atelier of my father.
Through him I discovered the beauty in handcrafted objects and design. Later on in my life I worked as a stylist and chief designer for a fashion brand in Paris. During the first Covid-19 lockdown of 2020 I had the opportunity to return to my childhood home and rediscover the workspace of my father. Through experimenting with clay I slowly saw the potential that ceramics can have, I found new means of expression and I felt that I could transcribe the creative process from designing a clothing collection to a ceramics collection.
What are your inspirations for your collections?
I always try to approach my designing process in a spontaneous and playful way. A lot of my way of working is connected to how I used to work in fashion. Mixing shapes and iconic objects together to create a colorful collection of pieces. A big part of this collection was inspired by pop art, the southern sun and 60’s designs. I always try to combine this inspiration and mix it with a bit of humor.
What does a typical day at the studio look like for you?
Most of my days now start with some emails, image research and the management of my site.
Then I’ll go to the studio and I’ll start with playing some music. This usually gets me in a good mood to sketch out some ideas and develop new forms and shapes that I could later implement in my collection. A big part of my time is devoted to the production of the ceramics, depending on the moment I’ll be spending my afternoon on the different steps of the production. I try to separate my afternoons between filling the molds, shaping the clay and glazing the pieces.
This way I can fully focus on one step of the production at the time and I can fill the oven at a moment that suits my planning.
How have your previous roles helped you prepare to start your own label?
For 5 years I was working for a pioneering upcycling fashion brand, with collections presented at the Paris Fashion Week. I was in charge of the designs as well as the production. During these years I learned how to multitask in a fast paced environment without losing my creative identity. The job also taught me to design things in a collective matter, all the pieces I create during a certain period are connected to each other by shape, pattern or color. This skill helped me naturally turn my first ceramic tests into a coherent collection of objects.
The world of fashion has allowed me to have a good overview and understanding of how to develop an idea in my head, into a final object that others could enjoy.
How does living in the South of France inspire your designs?
Growing up with a ceramist father obviously inspired me a lot. Even though our designs and our way of working is very different he does influence me in the way I approach my work. At the moment I’m living in between Paris and the south of France but I realize more and more that my taste in colors, shapes and life in general is highly influenced by the ambiance and light in the south.
What inspired you to start your own label?
It came really naturally, I started to experiment and have fun with clay and before I knew it I had several different designs that I liked. The feeling of being independent and having full control of the creative process motivated me to continue. I realized how happy ceramics could make me and very quickly I was taking it very seriously. Without asking myself too many questions I decided to just fully go for it and see where things would end.
