Meet the Maker: Jonathan Adler The eclectic designer speaks about his beginnings and new works

Potter, designer and author Jonathan Adler is many things, but perhaps most notably he is committed to exquisite craftmanship, and he’s enviably witty — two traits that have become hallmarks of his namesake design brand.

When he describes his first encounter with ceramics, it seems that a career in design was inevitable. “I first tried pottery at summer camp when I was thirteen because I thought the instructor was cute! I’m not a spiritual person, but the first time I touched clay I felt a connection.” Adler was hooked. But while he spent much of his adolescence exploring the craft, he went on to study art history and semiotics at Brown University. Of course, he spent more time at the campus just next door, in the pottery studios of the Rhode Island School of Design.

2018 marked 25 years since the young Adler sold his first range to Barneys, and 20 years since he opened his first store in Soho, New York. To mark the occasion, he returned to Barneys, for a takeover of the home floor in their Madison Avenue flagship. “I created special product that debuted there and will eventually make its way to our stores around the world. It’s been an amazing creative odyssey and I wouldn’t change anything,” he reflects.

Now an international design company with more than 20 stores around the world and some jaw-dropping residential and commercial projects to its name, the company Adler founded all those years ago has extended beyond ceramics to include furniture, lighting, decorative objects and soft furnishings. “I’ve been cheating on clay with brass and acrylic”, he says. “I’m a restless designer, and I’m always looking for new materials and techniques.”

But according to Adler, pottery is still “the soul” of the brand, and the commitment to his first love underlies the glamour and wit of each piece. He explains, “from the moment I started 25 years ago, I wanted to create pottery that was refined and had the absolute perfect silhouette. The elegant silhouettes of my work ensure they work in every style of home.”