I'm Raquel. I make handbuilt ceramics from my studio in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare.

I make it after you order it. Made for you.

When you place your order, I get to work, starting with a flat piece of stoneware clay and create your piece by hand, coiling, slab-building, making it as it goes. The flowers are sculpted one at a time. Then it's hand painted, fired, glazed with my glossy transparent glaze, and fired again. This takes time, and that is precious.

Somewhere on every piece there's my little ladybird hidden among the flowers. A bit of lady luck, a childhood memory.

The work comes from what's around me. Fuchsia (Deora Dé, God's tears,) tumbling over the ditches, the way it did over my grandparents' wall in Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary every summer. Wild daisies along the roadside. The Burren, an hour up the road, where Spring Gentians and Bloody Cranesbill push up through bare limestone in May, in a place nothing should grow. Poppies appearing where they've no right to be. I've always liked that about wildflowers. They're fragile, and they're stubborn at the same time.

Because each piece is made by hand, no two are the same. The forms are not perfectly straight or flat. That's not a flaw to me, it's the whole point, allowing the natural movement of the clay to shape the piece.

I started Creative Clay in 2015 and spent years chasing more: more stockists, more shows, more straight production. These days I make less, and I make it better. I sell directly through this website and at events around Clare, and I keep a small number of shops I genuinely like working with. It suits the work, and it suits me.

If you'd like something particular, a different flower, a piece that means something to a specific person, just ask. I can tweak and adjust a piece to make it more personal to you

Your piece doesn't exist yet. That's the point. When your order comes in, I'll email you with a timeline so you know when exactly to expect your piece, which I think you will love.

My goal? To make something beautiful and lasting for you, something that makes your home more uniquely yours. Thank you for being part of this journey, and for letting my creations become part of your world.