Pottery helped Caroline Sandford-Muir reconnect with her creativity after maternity leave. We talked with her about her journey from TV crew to hand-crafted ceramics, setting up a pottery studio in her basement, and how to ensure you don't break your pumpkins.
Holding one of Caroline Sandford-Muir’s hand-crafted mugs is an immediate comfort. Pleasantly weighted and gloriously tactile, it nestles in your palm as a good mug should - turning a simple morning coffee into a soothing ritual.
“I discovered pottery when I was on maternity leave with my first son,” she recalls. “After a difficult birth and the shock of becoming a parent, I was struggling. I felt I’d lost a huge part of my identity that I’d probably tied to my career. I was fundamentally missing being creative every day and while I adored my baby son, when he was 6 months old I reached the point where I needed to do something for me that was away from the home.”
After taking a three day pottery course, Caroline quickly became dedicated to the craft. “I found it so satisfying to shape a ball of clay in to what would become an item I use everyday,” she says. “It was just magic.” After the course, she enquired about joining evening classes, but they were booked solid. It was pure luck (or perhaps fate) that a few weeks later, a rare space opened up and she immediately took it, attending classes weekly and taking day courses whenever she could.
I found it so satisfying to shape a ball of clay in to what would become an item I use everyday. It was just magic.
Her extensive artistic skills from her studies at LIPA, refined by 14 years as an art director, graphic designer and prop maker for major UK TV studios (including the BBC, C4 and more), have meant that the pivot from creating for the small screen to creating for real life has come naturally to her. “It has influenced the way I run the business,” she says, and not just from years of hands-on work. She has also drawn on her on her TV experience to help her with a range of tasks from converting her basement to a full-time studio, to branding design, networking with like-minded people, and designing her stall for local markets in Liverpool.
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Her work ethic is all about balance, and finding ways to incorporate personal passion with functionality - all the while knowing exactly when to pour in the long hours and when to step back and allow things to settle. Her range of homewares, including mugs, plates, and vases, are refined in a rich colour palette of speckled stone, inky blues, and earthy mustard yellows, and her love of reactive glazes - which come out slightly differently each time due to reactions during the firing process - add depth and uniqueness to each piece.
Meanwhile, her sculptural pieces lean towards being impressionistic in style with a realistic colour palette. “I like to vary my work,” she says, “every kiln cycle I try to equally split making functional ware…[and] making sculptural pieces and decorative items such as tiny houses and trinket dishes.” This dedication to her craft and inner vision means that she is constantly creating fresh treasures which compliment each other and are infused with soul and creativity.
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Her ideas are constantly evolving and come from many different places. “I try to make things [my kids] will find enchanting,” she says, and she also draws on memories of home and travel for inspiration. She keeps a note in her phone and adds ideas to it as they come, keeping creative block at bay, and annual celebrations give her frequent opportunities for creating pieces to fit the season. “In August I start pumpkins/ghosts for Halloween and in September I start to make Christmas trees…I try to make something completely new for each kiln cycle.”
Pottery requires patience, lots of it...I lost 2 pumpkins last week to impatience.
The process behind creating handmade ceramics is intensive and requires a high level of skill, and the end result is a collection of unique and beautiful pieces that have clearly been lovingly crafted. Caroline knows each step of the process intimately, from making through to glazing and firing, and she has spent thousands of hours testing and refining. “Pottery requires patience, lots of it”, she says, “If you don’t factor in enough drying time before firing, things break. I lost 2 pumpkins last week to impatience.”
Once everything that can be controlled in the process is perfected, she embraces the variations that arise during firing as a key element in the beauty of the final product. A favourite moment in the process is unloading the kiln after a glaze firing. “Every firing something comes out different than expected,” she says, and it is this deep knowledge of how to balance technical excellence with artistic vision that makes her pieces both high quality and visually gorgeous.
Viewing Caroline's work in person is one way to truly appreciate the love and skill poured into each piece, and she frequently runs a stall at many local markets in Liverpool. She also currently has a piece on display at The Williamson Gallery for the Williamson Open from the 10th October-13th November 2025. For London locals, she has had a piece of work selected for the prestigious Discerning Eye Exhibition at Mall Galleries from the 14th-23rd November 2025.
As for the future? We can tell that there are many more beautiful creations in store. You can follow Caroline’s journey on her Instagram page @sandpottery, where she posts about her process, finished pieces, and upcoming markets and exhibitions. Head to her website www.sandpottery.com to purchase your own treasures.