Northern Lights Design Hand-thrown Stoneware Coffee Cups

Grey stoneware clay, thrown, trimmed, fired at 950 degrees celcius, and glazed with his own glaze. With 35% of feldspar from nordkapp, copper colour, before the last fire at 1250 degrees celcius.

Arild Baardseth, originally a chef and lecturer at Vestby Upper Secondary School, discovered a passion for ceramics in 2017 when he joined a course at Follo Folk High School. He now shares a rustic workshop—with its shelves of pots and a large kiln—with fellow alum Line Mallaug, treating ceramics as a pressure‑free hobby rather than a profession. Despite his initial shyness about standing out, he’s become “hooked,” balancing teaching and pottery since 2018.

He finds creative parallels between cooking and ceramics—both involve form, consistency, and the transformation of materials (glaze melting reminds him of caramel). Born in Hamar and having lived in Oslo (and briefly abroad), Arild brought his artistic pursuits to Son (in Southern Norway), where making ceramics helped him connect as a newcomer.

Though he supplies commissioned cups to places like the Nordic Box at Gardermoen and sells personal pieces to shops such as Balthazar in Oslo, he emphasizes freedom in his craft: no rigid rules, no outside pressure. He enjoys experimenting—accepting that glazes can fail in ways recipes can’t be rescued—and sees each kiln mishap as part of a steep learning curve. Above all, he values the creative collaboration with Line and the open‑ended encouragement he received from teacher Renate Loen: “Try, Arild!”

4 hours