Los Angeles, ceramicah.com
The handmade ceramic vessels and lamps of Micah Blyckert — who formed Ceramicah with his partner, Alexandra Cadiz, after they both left careers in architecture — are fairly simple in terms of form. But gosh, those glazes! From a perfectly weathered black-and-white stripe to a subtly colorful raku to a sleek-yet-rustic rust-hued gloss, they render the pair’s collection both interesting and sophisticated, the perfect thing to vibe up a neutral interior.

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?
American design is synonymous with experimentation, playfulness, and freedom. It’s a collision of different ideas, cultures, and ways of thinking that are allowed to evolve without the confines of formal traditions. The Los Angeles design scene exemplifies this, as a city of transplants who value innovation above assimilation. The lack of cohesion is actually where its magic lies, with artists and designers that bring completely different perspectives to the table and rebound off each other. This multidimensionality and freedom of expression is what keeps us eager and inspired to create more.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year?
On the heels of launching our new branding and website, we’re excited to dive into expanding our product line and develop new designs and collections. This will include experimenting with different forms, materials, and finishes while also streamlining our production process. We’ve also been working on some custom pieces for a few hotel projects that will be opening late 2023 and are excited for more hospitality work in the future. Personally, travel is always a highlight and we have been extremely drawn to Mexico recently, particularly the Yucatan. Hopefully this year will take us back there and beyond.

What inspires or informs your work in general?
Everything we do stems from the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This philosophy started early in our careers as architects, learning how to consider each element of a project, from the scale of a room down to the feel of a tile. When designing a piece now, we start with structure and proportion, using the flexibility and constraints of clay to distill a design down to its simplest yet most effective form. Micah’s sketchbook is full of the same images drawn over and over at different scales, and our studio is stacked with prototypes alike. From there we experiment with finishes and usually try to incorporate an organic touch. Our goal is always to create products that unite beauty and function and inspire joy in the everyday.