handmade ashtray ideas 16

ByRae Studio

In 2024, ByRae was born—out of clay, fire, and an insatiable desire to reshape the ordinary. A love for interior design sparked the journey for more personal style in home decor, and to capture an aesthetic that is unique. 


ByRae takes inspiration from easygoing Caribbean lifestyle and merges with influences of Brooklyns bold fashion scene to create one of a kind handmade forms. Think refined rebellion—sophisticated yet unpolished, effortless yet intentional.


Each piece is a statement, a mood, a little slice of art meant to be lived with. Crafted in small, deliberate batches, ByRae is for those who don’t just decorate—they curate.

Making of the Flower Spoonrest

Okay, This spoonrest took many trials and errors to be here, but finally I solidified a two week process that works beautifully. Yes, it takes two weeks to handcraft these gorgeous spoonrests. 

First the basic shape is thrown on the pottery wheel. I made a cup shape by pulling 2" walls on a small cup, waiting for the clay to try, before removing it from the pottery wheel bat. 

Now that I have my leather dry cup, the base of the cup is trimmed gently, creating a groove in the base, similar to what is seen on your mugs and cups at home, but more refined, and my logo added. At the end of the day, this is still an art piece, so I want to ensure it feels like such - with our Byrae Studio signature/logo.

 

At this point, the clay needs to be softened, so that I can really get the clay to hold the carving details I have in store for it. So the cups are set aside under plastic and water, so the clay can absorb some moisture. 

Once it's ready to be carved, I whip those babies out, and get to carving the edges of the petals, and the intricate vein system of the flower. each groove is carved by hand, making the piece incredibly unique, while maintaining the artists touch.

 

Once dried to a dusty gray color, the spoonrest is ready fro its first bisque fire. 24 hours in the kiln to bring the clay from mushy to completely solid. 

Now, its ready to be glazed. Since this is a flower, the glaze needs to be applied in layers, which adds a multidimensional aspect to the spoonrest. Each layer of brown and red glazes are added very evenly to the surface of the spoonrest - using a range of paintbrush sizes and dipping techniques- then left overnight to fully dry. The surface dries as a chalky dull color, but not for long!

 

Next up- the spoonrest needs to "rest" in the kiln overnight to transform into this beautiful vivacious ceramic art piece. Look at the transformation! 

 

Watch the video here: 

https://youtube.com/shorts/z-6pCyiPcHshttps://youtube.com/shorts/tEZ5MZK9qGQ?si=9kTGzAYcVyH71vdZ