Pots & Pithoi

The task was not to invent a story for Pots & Pithoi. It was to uncover what already made the business remarkable and express it with greater clarity and confidence.

Clare and I distilled the brand into three principles that guided every decision that followed.

Prestigious
Quiet confidence, uncompromising quality and considered experiences.

Artisanal
Celebrating human skill, provenance and enduring traditions.

Elemental
Grounded in clay, water and fire, and the transformation of a raw natural material into something of lasting value.

We captured the proposition in two words: earth refined — the transformation of material drawn from the ground into an object of artistry and value.

I translated that idea into a restrained identity: a clay-and-slip palette, expressive typography, a circular maker’s stamp and a device drawn from the Cretan labyrinth.

Elevated but grounded.
Timeless but distinctive.

The identity extended into catalogues, stationery, business cards, bags, signage and stamps applied directly to the pots. Textured stocks and debossed details gave the system a physical quality aligned with the terracotta itself.

I briefed new lifestyle photography by Tom Pope, created a consistent treatment for the making imagery, and re-edited the brand film to bring product, place and process into one coherent story.

The website became the most complete expression of the new brand. I reorganised more than 300 products, designed and built the Shopify experience, migrated the catalogue and brought online and in-store operations together through Shopify POS.

The same thinking shaped product curation, gallery content, the café, gift shop and physical store — creating consistency far beyond the screen. I then trained the team to manage the new system confidently.

Since launching in February 2024, the identity and Shopify system have remained in active use across the website, showroom and wider communications. The unified platform continues to support both online and in-store operations, while I remain actively involved in directing new collections, catalogues, print, magazine advertising and other expressions of the brand.