Our know-how
At the Three Seven Paris workshop, each piece is entirely and exclusively made by hand.
INVENT OUR VISION OF CERAMICS
It is with a very precise idea of the desired ceramic quality that we have empirically and intuitively developed a manufacturing method truly exclusive to Three Seven Paris.
We wanted to create unique and singular tableware, beginning with our signature color. To give our white pottery that ivory color we’ve used only natural pigments. Each piece is then finely decorated with different illustrations, made to be all mixed together.
The time of illustration depends on the shape and type of design to execute; it can take 10 min, up to 3 hours!
Tired of the rustic and traditional aesthetics of ceramics, our primary objective was to create light and refined pieces, both in shape and in texture. We worked to create pieces that would emulate the feeling of holding an eggshell in your hand. We needed a smooth material, with soft curves and without artifice; something truly simple. You find neither handle, nor foot or any other relief on our pieces that would disrupt the smooth organic matter. This is also the reason behind the three points forming a triangle that you can feel on the back of all our pieces: as the pieces do not dry resting on a foot or handle they rest only on a tripod in order for the piece not to stick to the heating plates during the cooking of the glaze.
TIME TO CREATE
In total, more than 14 days are necessary to create a single piece, however small it may be.
We make our dishes with a well-known ceramic process: pouring. The material, a clever mixture of earth and water, is poured into plaster molds, specially designed and developed by and for Three Seven Paris, on site. At the first impact of the plaster of the mold, the ceramic already develops a first unique trait: a light beige halo on the back of the piece. It will reveal itself fully after cooking, as a witness of this artisanal process, we like to think of it as a birthmark.
After this pouring step, we respect natural drying times, which vary according to the shapes and the atmosphere. It takes between 72 hours, or can even take up to more than a week in wet weather, to obtain a dry room before first baking at 1000 ° C for 48 hours.
From this first batch, we will have the first, almost definitive version of the product, baked and porous pieces. With a slightly grainy and matte appearance, the illustrators will draw on it with the special ink: a mixture of pigments, clay and water that we formulate in our workshop.
Our longest illustrations on some of the larger pieces may require up to 3 hours of work.
We then glaze each piece, to vitrify it and to protect its illustrations of course, but above all to allow it to be used for food. This glaze also minimises the porous aspect of the pieces up to 95%, so you can put them in the dishwasher.
One last 36-hour firing at 1000 ° C is required to obtain the finished product.
A UNIQUE & ARTISANAL COLLECTION
Today, we combine our meticulous attention to detail together with this artisanal process to obtain unique, harmonious and homogeneous pieces, with the fine, precise and modern handling of ceramics which we hold so dear.
This craftsmanship requires great humility in the face of this natural and essential material; the clay. Many parameters must be controlled during manufacturing process such as temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure to ensure success. Each new oven that is opened is a treasure trove: you never know with certainty what we will find there. At times we are met with the disappointment of a few split pieces and other times the absolute wonder of a perfect batch, it is a constant discovery.
This is where the beauty and excitement of our craft resides.
