Method

Returning to the basic formal principles of the Bauhaus, Young-Jae Lee together with Hildegard Eggemann, Michael Schmandt and Claudia Neumann developed the characteristic formal language of the Keramische Werkstatt Margaretenhöhe’s collection more than twenty years ago.

Their most important requirements were that every piece had to be easy to throw, and functional. All parts of a tableware set, no matter the color, were to be mix-and-matchable. The twenty-five basic elements of a tableware set were designed first: plates, bowls, pitchers. The six-tone range of colors, from shades of jade-green to an off-white to a rust-brown, was the result of months of experimentation. The characteristic features of the collection remain the same to this day and are not subject to changes in fashion or Zeitgeist.

Pieces thrown on the potter’s wheel are of Westerwald stoneware clay; the square plates are formed from slabs via plaster models. Bisque firing is done in an electric kiln at roughly 950 °C. Glazes, with their matte to glossy surfaces and coordinated colors, are fired in a gas kiln at ca. 1300 °C, in a reducing atmosphere.

All materials and production processes are environmentally-friendly, and all pieces are dishwasher safe.