Tandem Ceramics is a small-batch ceramic production located in Western Massachusetts. Designed and handcrafted by wife-and-husband duo Justine Barrett Figura and Grant Figura, the couple has been collaborating since 2014.

WHO THEY ARE

It’s in the name! Alchemy is at the heart of Tandem Ceramics; the idea that when individuals join together it creates something entirely unique. Our life as makers (as well as a couple) revolve around this very concept. We’ve been collaborating in clay since 2014, with the sole focus on making a sustainable living as artists and opening up the possibility for others to do the same. We currently employ two part-time employees and offer both short and long-term educational opportunities (in the form of internships and apprenticeships) to our local community.

WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT

Our current age of consumerism abandons the simple principle of ‘less is more’, but we hold fast to it believing that small-batch production creates a model of sustainability and can do far more good than planned obsolescence. From the forms to the clay itself to the glazes we use, every aspect of our work is formulated and executed by us and our team in Western Massachusetts. We work out of a 1600 square-foot space located in a repurposed mill building, whose origins in American-made goods date back to the 1860s. We are humbled (and at the same time, proud) to be continuing the tradition.

WHAT THEY MAKE

Coming from backgrounds in Printmaking, Photography and Ceramics, we’ve combined our creative disciplines into a line of ceramic wares that focus on utility, color and surface with the ultimate goal of adding beauty and function to everyday tasks. Making your morning coffee, arranging flowers, repotting a plant, lighting incense can all be reframed with the influence of mindfulness, and ultimately love! We create first and foremost for us, but for you as well; our work reflects the life we live, and invites you to join in the bliss.