Visit Stenmaglehaven – a private garden in Central Zealand

Living glaze, crater texture and natural plays of colour

These pots are truly special and unique in their character. The production process is impressive, which makes each pot its own.

When volcanic/glazed pots are made, the pot is first shaped by hand, on a potter's wheel or in press moulds. They are then dried slowly until completely dry. Once the pots are thoroughly dry, they are fired for the first time at 900-1000 degrees. After this firing the pots are strong enough to be handled and to absorb the glaze evenly.

During the glaze firing the glaze begins to “boil”. As it fires, tiny gas bubbles are pushed up and burst small holes in the surface – and it is these that create the crater and bubble texture. Colours such as green, turquoise and brown come from different metal oxides – for example, copper is used for green/turquoise and iron for brown/gold.

Once the pots have been glazed, they are glaze-fired in large gas- or wood-fired kilns at around 1200-1250 degrees. This firing makes them highly resistant to weather and frost.

Small differences in temperature, position in the kiln or the thickness of the glaze make each pot unique.

Classic earth tones with a rustic and timeless character

The rustic, classic and timeless appearance of the terracotta pots suits many styles. The pots create an authentic look with their warm earth tones.

When the pots are made, the first step is to dig up the clay. Once the clay has been dug up, it is cleaned of stones and kneaded until supple. The pots are then shaped by hand or on a potter's wheel with moulds and smoothed to the right thickness and shape. Next the pots are dried slowly in the shade, so that the clay does not crack.

Once they are completely dry, they are fired in large kilns at high temperature, which makes the clay hard and durable and gives the characteristic warm terracotta colour.