Jodie Fried is in awe of natural materials. Regardless of whether it is the raw earthness of clay or the organic fibers in a pure wool carpet, the ceramist and co-founder of the B-Corp carpet company London and Los Angeles are inspired by the tones and textures of nature. “The variety is impossible to replicate, but I try to grasp a feeling in my work,” she says Business at home.
Jodie friedVictoria Zschommler
As a artist, as long as she can remember, fried in Adelaide, Australia, grew up and began to draw and shape at a young age. In her late teenagers, she wrote to the Adelaide Central School of Art to study print graphics and sculpture before moving to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney and acquired a degree in film design.
After graduating, she started a career in costume and production design and worked for almost a decade in theater, opera, dance and film until a trip to Ahmedabad, India, sent where she had immersed in the traditional craft culture. “I was inspired how manual craft is part of her way of life,” she says. “It centers its communities and I was exposed to a variety of skills at every turn.”
Motifated she started in 2009 Armadillo-Die co-founder Sally Pottharst-with a selection of lush, handmade carpets, which were made from sustainable fibers, which use centuries-old web techniques. “At that time, carpets were fussy [and] There was no quality and simplicity, and we wanted to change that, ”she explains. “We have planned to create carpets that were timeless and versatile, for modern life accessible and exceptionally manufactured.”
The oven in Frieds Los Angeles Studio With the kind permission of Jodie Fried
In her downtime, Brat carved a small pottery studio in her house and practiced the sculpture. When pandemic met, she spent her days to make her skills as a ceramic. “It is very humble not to be very good in something,” she says. “Working with sound requires your full attention and it will be a wonderful way to slower and find calm.”
Each of the pieces of Fried is by hand thrown on a wheel-a process that she describes as “challenging and meditative” at the same time. With regard to material severity, they retired to earthy, structured tones in natural tones that change the colors when they are fired in the oven. “I often mix tone to give them continuity as a collection of subtle differences,” she says. “The result becomes a nice grouping of colors.”
Neutral glazes play a crucial role in their ceramic designs, which cause the coarse shapes and tactile surfaces of archaeological vessels. “Depending on the sound, oven position and temperature, the glaze reacts differently, which always brings with it a surprise element,” she explains. “I came to hug the little imperfections, which of course come – these quirks are often their special character to the parts.”
A selection of Frieds ceramic work in addition to the Petra carpet in Sparrow from Armadillo With the kind permission of Armadillo
Fried, whose ceramic plants are exhibited and are available for sale in Armadillo in Los Angeles and Sydney Showrooms, says that sculpting stoneware carpets are designed in heirs. “Both crafts are driven by love for natural materials and their inherent imperfections,” she says. “With carpets I am looking for fibers with shifts in the texture – such as Afghan wool – that holds the dye organically, similar to how I work with earthy, raw clays in the ceramic.”
A new collection of ceramic ships is currently working hard and on a number of designs for Armadillo, fried with an American gallery to present their work in 2025. And ceramics are old arts to which I feel a deep connection, and I try to honor these traditions and at the same time create pieces that feel sensible. Ultimately, I want my work to return something – through the design, its usefulness or its ability to be shared and enjoyed with others. “
For more information about Jodie Fried, see the Instagram or Armadillo website.