MEET THE MODERN CRAFTSPEOPLE: CHRIS BRAMBLE

Chris Bramble takes clay and makes it come alive. He hand-throws and sculpts ceramics, taking aesthetic influences from European sculptors like Rodin and applying them to traditional African craftmanship and modern technique.   

The results are both universal and intensely unique: what he describes as ‘expressions in clay’.   

For the 65th anniversary of our 1461 shoe we looked to showcase modern craftspeople who live and breathe the ethos of the shoe: quiet innovators focusing on function to create something beautiful and unique.  

Here, we dig a little deeper and find out more about Chris’s creativity and how he gets there.   

CRAFT  

I’m a graduate of The Glasgow School of Art. My work draws heavily from my time in Zimbabwe during the 1980s, where I studied traditional stone-carving techniques that deeply shaped my approach to clay.  

My ceramic sculptures are inspired by life, rhythm, and dance, and aim to capture the spirit and unseen aspects of contemporary Black culture through organic forms that merge African aesthetics with modern techniques.   

I also teach and share the craft of clay from my London studio.  

CREATIVE PROCESS  

Inspiration often comes from everyday moments - a walk through the park, the high street, or watching a film. Once I’m in the workshop, this might translate into a sketch or some modelling, and the ideas develop from there.  

METHOD  

Sometimes I’ll make a model using something as simple as a lolly stick as a shorthand tool.  

INSPIRATION  

Long walks on Hampstead Heath.  

RELAXATION  

I enjoy watching anything by David Attenborough.  

 WORST FASHION MOMENT  

Four-inch platforms.  

DREAM DINNER PARTY  

Bob Marley, Otis Redding and Minnie Riperton.