About Us

Hey!

I’m Martina and I’m the maker, photographer, administrator, packing lady, and everything else behind Isla Clay.

I live in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with my family; a Scottish partner and our two sons.

I have always loved creating; as a child and later teen I would draw, paint on paper or glass, make things out of plasticine, decoupage, knit, crochet, play piano, translate books.

I tried many, many ways of creative expression yet they all left me desiring something more until I tried working with clay.

Clay opened a new world for me; the feeling of freedom and endless possibilities when I had that piece of mud in front of me was incredible. I could make anything out of it!

Clay fulfilled me, and that’s how I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I started Isla Clay in 2013. That was when I lived near Glasgow, Scotland.

With the income from translating books, I managed to save up for a tiny Paragon kiln. I could fit one large cup in it so making tableware was not really an option back then, but I wanted to make jewellery anyway.

I opened an Etsy shop and within a year making ceramic jewellery became my full-time job!

Soon after moving to Slovenia, I bought a larger kiln as I listened to my growing wish to make ceramics. That again opened a new world for me, a world of pinching, coiling, slab-building, and stoneware.

I never took any courses as I was way too impatient and eager to find out things that interested me. So instead, I watched YouTube videos, read books, and did lots of hands-on exploring.

Often having a teacher to ask them questions would have been quicker, but I feel that through testing and figuring stuff out myself I learned to use my intuition, and that’s what my ceramics are known for – for being intuitive, organic, full of human (finger)print.

I’m a hand-builder through and through, I have never really been tempted by the wheel, however that means that it takes me hours to complete a cup. Thank you for keeping this in mind when browsing my shop! :)

Best,

Martina x