Handmade · How it is made

Wheel-Thrown
and Hand-Built

Every piece AWIS sells is made by hand in the Philippines. Most of it is thrown on the wheel; some, by the artists we show, is built by hand from slabs and coils. Here is the difference, and what we have in each.

A table set with handmade stoneware cups, bowls and plates, wheel-thrown in the Philippines for AWIS

The short answer. AWIS house mugs, cups, bowls and plates are wheel-thrown stoneware, made by hand in the Philippines from ₱650. The gallery adds hand-built and sculptural pieces by named Filipino ceramic artists. Both are sold to homes, and the house line is supplied in volume to cafés and restaurants.

Wheel-thrown

Clay is centred on a spinning wheel and pulled up by hand into a cylinder, a bowl or a plate. Handles are pulled and attached; the foot is trimmed when the clay is leather-hard. It is the fastest way to make a consistent form by hand, which is why it suits a house line and a café counter.

Wheel-thrown: the house line

All mugs and cups
JUAN handleless stoneware cups in five glazes: Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo and Azure

JUAN

₱650 · 250 ml

Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo, Azure

BRISEO handmade stoneware mugs in five glazes: Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo and Azure

BRISEO

From ₱700 · 350 ml · 250 ml

Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo, Azure

DUKE tall handleless stoneware cups in five glazes: Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo and Azure

DUKE

₱800 · 350 ml

Rust, Sand, Bamboo, Azure

ANTON handmade stoneware mugs in five glazes: Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo and Azure

ANTON

₱850

Azure

AMADO handmade stoneware mugs in Rust, Sand, Charcoal and Azure glazes

AMADO

₱850

Sand, Charcoal, Azure

FLORESCA 480 ml handmade stoneware mugs in Rust, Sand and Charcoal glazes

FLORESCA

₱900 · 480 ml

Rust, Sand, Charcoal, Bamboo, Azure

Wheel-thrown: the table

The Table
A handmade stoneware place setting: dinner plate, salad plate and soup bowl in Sand and RustPlace settingDinner plate, salad plate, soup bowlALEJANDRO, a handmade stoneware pasta bowl in Sand glaze, 24 cmAlejandroPasta bowl, 24 cmPITSEL, a handmade stoneware pitcher in Sand glaze, 700 mlPitselPitcher, 700 mlA handmade stoneware teapot in Rust glaze, 800 mlTeapot800 ml

Hand-built

Without the wheel, clay is rolled into slabs, coiled, or pinched, then joined. It is slower and every piece is a one-off. It makes forms the wheel cannot: square bottles, trays, figures, combed and textured walls.

From the gallery

The exhibition
Barnacle bowl by Mia Casal, ridged white stoneware with a coral interiorMia CasalBarnacle bowls and platesSiegrid Bangyay: Musa, sculptural mugs, handmade Philippine ceramics at AWISSiegrid BangyayMusa, sculptural mugsJoey de Castro: Tea bowls, chawan, handmade Philippine ceramics at AWISJoey de CastroTea bowls, chawanA square handmade stoneware bottle with a tall neck, rust brushed through an ash-white glazeFrom the collectionSquare bottle

For homes, and for cafés

Buy a single piece or a pair for home, or order in volume for a café, restaurant or hotel: see trade terms and handmade cups for coffee shops.

Made by hand, one at a time, in the Philippines.

Questions

The potter centres clay on a spinning wheel and pulls it up into a form by hand. Each piece is shaped individually, which is why the walls carry faint throwing rings and no two are exactly alike. AWIS house mugs, cups, bowls and plates are wheel-thrown.

Hand-built pieces are made without the wheel, from slabs, coils or pinched clay. It allows forms a wheel can't make: square bottles, trays, sculptural mugs. Some of the Filipino ceramic artists we show work this way.

It is different. Factory pieces are identical and cheap; handmade pieces vary a little and carry the maker's hand. AWIS house pieces are high fired stoneware, dishwasher and microwave safe, made for daily use.

AWIS sells wheel-thrown stoneware mugs and cups from ₱650, made in the Philippines in five glazes, shipped nationwide from ₱300. Cafés and restaurants can order in volume with trade pricing.

Yes. Cafés, restaurants and hotels order wheel-thrown cups, bowls and plates with trade pricing on enquiry.

Read next

Shop Handmade Ceramic Mugs & Cups

Filipino Ceramic Artists

Ceramic Mugs and Plates for Cafés and Restaurants Philippines

Stoneware and Earthenware