Meet the Makers behind paper thin moon
CREATE A HOME THAT FEELS
LIKE YOU
With unique homeware from the family who have been creating handmade ceramics since 1800
Artisan homeware. Made by a seventh-generation potter and his daughter
Conversation pieces, story stirrers, heritage heirlooms. This is your antidote to mass-produced homeware. The Fishley Holland family have been creating ceramic goods for over two hundred years. And Peter and his daughter Claire are continuing that legacy today. This is homeware that’s unlike anything you’ll find on the high street. It’s thoughtfully designed and made slowly, with care and attention.
Meet the family
Paper Thin Moon was born in the hope of helping to inspire you to love where you live. It started out as a creative living and interiors blog and has since grown to include a more recent collaboration between father and daughter.
We launched our online store in 2018. But our family’s been creating British homeware since around 1800. So you could say that over 200 years of heritage goes into every Paper Thin Moon piece.
Peter Fishley Holland, the studio potter
Paper Thin Moon’s story can be traced back to the times when horses were driven to “pug” the clay and carry the homeware to market along dirt roads.
The family business first opened its doors at the turn of the 19th century, when George Fishley (Claire’s great great great great grandfather) founded a pottery in Fremington, North Devon. By 1865 his son, Edwin Beer Fishley, had taken the lead.
The staff at Fremington in 1907.
Edwin’s work had a major influence on early studio potters, most famously Bernard Leach. A selection of Edwin’s earthenware jugs and dishes can be found in the permanent collection of the V&A Museum in London. Years later, it was Edwin’s grandson, William Senior, who ran the Braunton Pottery, where Michael Cardew learnt to throw under his tutelage. His skill and craftsmanship have been passed down through seven generations, from grandfather to father to son. Peter Fishley Holland now continues that tradition from his Sussex pottery.
Claire Holland, the designer
Growing up in rural Scotland in the 1980s, Claire didn’t pay too much attention to her family history. She’d heard family and friends mention that her father was the seventh generation in a line of well-known studio potters.
But for Claire?
Peter was just her dad, who left the house each morning to work in his studio next to their house.
After studying fashion design, a 25-year career in print journalism at the Sunday Times Style and the Financial Times followed. But in 2013, Claire found herself craving something different. She was ready to swap city life for a rural idyll. A life that was more akin to the one she enjoyed growing up.
Claire at her dad’s wheel c 1979
So the family moved to East Sussex. And Peter came along too.
Something about that rural escapism took Claire back to the countless hours she’d spent sitting on the floor as a child watching her dressmaker mother at work. Even then, she wondered at the way her mother worked, putting fabrics together to make their clothes. From turning offcuts of outgrown dresses and old curtains into patchwork bedspreads, to creating one-of-a-kind macrame pieces, Claire’s mum was her earliest inspiration.
A patchwork bedspread created by Claire’s mum c 1974
Now Claire is Paper Thin Moon’s creative director. She weaves together the best of our past and present to create something we think is pretty special.
A NOD TO NATURE
So much of what we create is inspired by nature. Claire’s Sussex walks and wanderings down to the beach are where some of her best ideas find her.
On top of that, each creation is made using natural materials. From the botanicals in the flower artwork to the clay in the ceramics, nature is an intrinsic part of what we do. We work hard to protect it.
A GENTLE INVITATION
When your home isn’t quite as you want it to be, it can feel like there’s a huge chasm between your ideal and your reality. We want you to be able to create a home you love with ease.
Whether you’re looking to bring a little extra joy to your morning coffee. Or you’re planning a full renovation project. We’re here to make it simple for you. With ample styling inspiration and plenty of obtainable ideas for every budget.
A SENSE OF HERITAGE
We use the word heritage a lot, and there’s a good reason for that.
We’ve been around for a long time, and we plan on our products sticking around a long time too. So you can buy less. Enjoy more. And bring a little piece of our story into your home.
MADE IN OUR HOME, FOR YOU TO USE IN YOURS
MADE IN ENGLAND, FOR LOVERS OF ECLECTIC INTERIORS
There’s a lot about England that we love. From the pebbly beaches of Sussex to the rolling green hills of the South Downs. It’s our home. And, like you, we want to protect it.
Every piece you’ll find here is handmade in England. With clay from Cornwall and Stoke-on-Trent. And botanicals found or grown in Sussex. So we can give our home the same love, care and attention that we give our homeware.
