Process - Heating

Every piece of porcelain, ranging from the huge vases, to the tea cups from the tea set.... have gone through the doors of this kiln.

Process - Dye Versus Glaze

The colours on the porcelain is either sprayed with glaze or pre-dyed.

Pre-dyed clay is used for more specific items, such as the leaves of the narcissus.

For uniform coloured items such as the vase range (below), the spray glaze is used. The glaze is applied and before being heated. The process repeats until the ideal glaze finishing is achieved. The number of rounds is dependent on the size & shape of each item.

These are partially finished vases. They have just gone through the first round of heating. Awaiting to be cooled down before the second coat of glaze.

See the spray below. It's white plate. Once it's out of the kiln, we get a blue plate.

Process - Petal-Making

We say this is a process helps one to think zen. Depending on how you view it, some call this therapeutic, while others call it monotonous.

Monotonous as it can be, the end result of this mundane task is an intricate piece of art. It is what makes the blooms of the plate alive.

Just before each "petal" dries up, it is very carefully inserted to create the blooms.

Process - Handwork

Much as we'll like machines to share our workload, most of our pieces which still requires that human touch.

Our masters have gone through the relevant training in the arts school. Certainly no easy feat sitting for hours with the vase & crafting tools. Part of our creative team is made up of budding porcelain artisans.

Process - Casting

Once the mould is ready, the clay is carefully kneaded and thinly-spread within the internal walls of the mould. Thanks to technology, we can now achieve not only a thin spread but also an evenly distributed one.

The machine that has displaced much of our hand-kneading work, so that our hands & time could be used for more delicate work.

Can you spot the difference between this & the first picture? Look at the inside walls of the mould. The clay has been kneaded in.

Process - Raw Materials

There are 2 types of clay used in Le Taoh's workshop.

To put it simply, it comes in 2 forms:

1) The solid & malleable form that most of us are familiar with.

2) Liquid form, that's used for bigger items, such as the vase series. Before pouring them into the mould, it is important to ensure that the emulsion is well-mixed.

Process - Mould Making

Consistency & standardisation is maintained, as far as possible.

Once a new design is finalised, a mould is produced. This is particularly especially important for items like tea sets. It ensures every tea cup is of the same shape, thickness & size.

Story Telling Holder

In the olden days, such holders were used by the scholars for their calligraphic brushes.

Today, we chose to use them to organise the cutlery.

The holder's matt surface is painstakingly carved to achieve 2 delicate layers.

Each side tells a story.

On one side, we see an old man hurrying in a journey with a basket full harvest, with his grandson. Fatigue but also feeling fulfilled.

Turn over to the other side, we see 2 sages enjoying a game of wei qi (similar to our modern day Reversi) under the Chinese pavilion, surrounded by lush greenery. The old trees that surrounds contain the deep-edged prints on the bark.

Turn slightly to the left, it reminds me of an ancient residence for the rich.

Entrenched behind these settings is a range of never-ending mountains. The effects of the varying shades of the mountains, showing its depth will be best viewed under the light.

Available Colour: Matt White

Height: 12.5cm

Width: 11.5cm

Way of Tea (Cherry Blossom)

Enjoy chado in this exquisite range of cherry blossom tea set.

Instead of a usual rounded bottom tea cup, we added a base to make this tea set a class of its own.

This tea set is an extension from the cherry blossom wine cup, specially designed for chinese tea lovers. If chinese tea's not your cuppa, use it as a display in your living room. Otherwise, it makes an ideal cultural gift exchange.

The luminous translucent glow under light, that can only been seen in real fine porcelain.

The set consists of: 1 teapot, 1 tea pitcher & 6 cups

Available colour: Light Emerald

The Process

We thought you might be curious to know what goes on behind-the-scenes at the workshop.

So, we're happy to share them here, through our candid captures.

It's a tedious process. We would love to cut it short. But I guess for every piece of heart-work, there are no short-cuts.

We will take you through the process in the subsequent posts.

Click on the "Process" label to find out more.