AVOCA RIVER COLLECTION

This collection is inspired by the stunning Vale of Avoca in Ireland

"There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet;
Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart,
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart."
—Thomas Moore, 1779–1852

Thomas Moore

 

For years, my husband and I were captivated by an old house in the Vale of Avoca. The stunning Avoca River flowed through the land, carving its way through the valley and shaping the lush landscape around it. We easily imagined our lives there,raising our children in the beauty of the valley,  listening to the babbling river through open windows.

It was a home steeped in history, and one that needed much love and care. The river had its own story to tell—pollution seeping from old copper mines upstream had destroyed large sections of it making it uninhabitable to fish and destroying its delicate ecosystem.

To live there would be a real adventure but also a calling. And we both felt called by the house, by the land, and by the river. We vowed to do everything in our power to restore the river and maintain the historical house.

Perhaps we allowed ourselves to dream a little too much. After years of planning, the sale of the house fell through. We were devastated, and heartbroken to say goodbye.

But from grief often comes growth and this collection has developed over those years of dreaming and emerged as a way to celebrate the Vale of Avoca and it's powerful waters. 

Because the design has developed over time, each item in the collection is unique—different glazes, different clay bodies—but all carry the symbolic river decoration, flowing across surfaces or curling along handles. I try to capture the movement of water, and the life and memory of the valley that captured our hearts.

I hope this collection brings a little of the spirit of Ireland, and the enduring beauty of the Avoca River, into your home.