Work Like A Designer | Eleni Falangus Duffy | Episode 790

Eleni Falangus Duffy | Episode 790

Pottery by Eleni is named after four generations of amazing women in the life of Eleni Falangus Duffy’s Greek American linage. All four share the Eleni namesake. Eleni’s mother was the first to put clay in Eleni’s hands, while the lush Puget Sound region was the first to inspire her heart for design.

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As a designer are you thinking more about the person and their needs or are you thinking, This would be cool?

I think sometimes. I think I am thinking of it almost in terms of a lavish photo shoot every time, like setting a table, and just adorning it with candlesticks and platters and plates. I think that’s one of my favorite things to do is when we do our little stylized photo shoots with those finishing touches. Recently I came up with, oh we could cover napkin rings entirely with gold and that would pop all of our other gold accents. I think I keep coming up with ways to almost embellish a home with this style.

Do you embrace your constraints? You use gold and you use porcelain and that is your palette, does that open up more creativity for you?

Yeah, I think so. I mean there are limitations with those mediums. You are never going to be able to throw quite as big as you can with other types of clay. And I’ve figured out now if you want to slab construct a large size it has to be done very carefully. And of course with the practicality of it, gold can’t go in the microwave. We do use it in some bakeware. I think it does keep it in the luxury homeware world because it’s not durable and not necessarily pieces that you want to encourage people to use everyday. So I think it is just staying to who we are going to be, luxury homeware. It is something you want to take special care of or give as a special present.

As a designer are you trying to be a bit of a storyteller and communicate an idea in terms of your collections?

I think so. One of the things that I do ,that I started to do since the beginning, is that all the pieces of my work are named after women in my life. That was just kind of a way of honoring people who are close to me but also I think it helped me think of certain products that reminded me of that person. Not always but sometimes the name really is named that product for a reason. The first one that comes to my head is the Diane pedestal. That is my grandmother who had chocolates on a little vintage pedestal by my bed last time I came to visit.

I heard a designer say, Think communication not decoration. Are you trying to communicate a lifestyle or communicate something more so than just being a decorator?

Yeah, I think so. I think it inspires a lifestyle with our collection.

When you are making a collection do you use a pad and pen beforehand with drawings?

I have before with some constructed pieces. Like that giant oyster bowl. I kind of had an interesting process to make that so I drew it out. But most of the time I do love clay as a medium and kind of start of some sort of idea but then clay can have a mind of it’s own and it really can become something else too. And I love that about it.

Do you get obsessives about an idea where you are chasing it down until it comes to life?

Yes, my husband would say I definitely do that. He would maybe love for me to turn off a little bit more at night.

What’s it like for you to be able to work full time with your partner?

I love it. A lot of people tell us that would be hard for a lot of people. I think that’s the first thing people say to us. Oh, that might be difficult. Or something like that. But I think we work really well together. We both came from backgrounds where we were leading teams in some way so now that it’s just us we are learning these systems where we can be hyper efficient and everything. I mean he is so talented at organizing a work flow. I definitely do more of the construction and he is more of the boxing and shipping. The tools are always where they are supposed to be. My artist’s mind does not allow for that.