Hi, I'm Melanie Eliades,
the face and maker behind the ceramics you see at Clay Beehive, its a pleasure to have you join me.
Hand-made, one of a kind, unique pieces that show little quirks and details never to be repeated are so beautiful to me, how wonderful to sip from a beautiful bespoke cup or eat a delicious home cooked meal from a plate created by two humble hands, I love it.
I absolutely love making ceramics, the moment I touched wet sticky clay it just resonated with me unlike anything else, it's like its been waiting for me my whole life, i feel very blessed to have the opportunity to create pieces I enjoy making that have been so well received by my beautiful customers.
Functional ceramics are my passion, I'm especially keen on making tableware in the form of plates and bowls, I always think about the style of food that will go on them.
I Love the flexibility clay allows you to create, there are multiple techniques you can employ to create ceramics, I am very drawn to hand building especially using a slab of clay but I also love the wheel and enjoy altering wheel-thrown pieces to combine my love for both techniques, I'm also excited to keep exploring, trying new techniques and growing my skills as a maker.
Surface decoration also really excites me, there is so much to explore and I feel is definitely an area that allows you to put your own personality and style on a piece.
I'm also a photographer so to be able to combine ceramics and photography together is an absolute dream for me, its a very welcome skill to have as I feel its crucial to show my pieces in their best light, I want my customers to be excited when they see my images and be able to picture my ceramics in their own homes, so i put a lot of effort in styling the pieces to reflect this and also give my food stylists/designer customers an idea of how they will be able to use the ceramics in their own photo shoots.
My favourite part of being a maker is receiving a photo or a message from a happy customer showing me their ceramics being put to use in their own home or being used in their own photo shoots, that is so cool! I truly cherish those customer interactions and connections I have made being a maker its been the most suprising part of my journey in ceramics forming all of these connections with like minded others that truly appreciate and cherish a hand-made piece.