WE had followed the work of Inês from Aquiles Ceramics for some time and contacted her with regards to collaborating on a unique collection of exclusive pieces.

It soon became clear that we shared many of the same values and both wanted to create something that would explore the balance between beauty and practicality. Making everyday objects that are made to last is at the forefront of Inês ‘s work, so it was important to create something functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

This exclusive Aquiles + OpahStore collection brings together traditional craft and elegant, functional minimalism.

The ceramics are now available in both white and dark stoneware, which have a glossy interior glaze and a textured external finish. explore our exclusive pieces here.

Photography by Pedro Cerqueira - Plate Studio

- WHERE ARE YOU BASED AND WHAT’S IT LIKE TO LIVE THERE ?

I live in Aveiro, a beautiful city that lies bettween the river and the atlantic coast, in the north of Portugal. My studio is in ílhavo, which is a smaller region inside the district.

I was actually born in Lisbon, but I´ve lived in a few other cities before settling here.

This part of the country is very big on fishing, salt and everything that relates to the sea and water. Our roads and houses are all basically built on top of the river, and everywhere you go you can mostly see some type of water. For this reason we have an incredible variety of birds, plants, rocks and clay, which are for sure very inspiring.

ílhavo, where my studio is, also has a very big ceramic tradition, specially porcelain. A few streets from my studio you can find the most famous porcelain factory in the country called Vista Alegre, which used to have a small village inside where the workers and their families lived. It is now a much more modern factory, but with a museum, church and theatre for visitors. I would say every portuguese family has at least one item from Vista Alegre.

I´ve been living here for a few years now, and it has been such an inspiring place to work in, I love the foggy mornings, the distint songs of the birds, the amazing wild beaches and the salty Atlantic ocean. it inspires me and my work, to truly be able to admire so much simple but strong beauty.

- HOW did YOUR JOURNEY AS a maker start and was there a turning point in which you wanted to make it a career?

I studied cinema/film in college, and then mastered in cenography in 2017. It was at this time that I started to attend some ceramic classes and workshops for fun, but I completely fell in love wih the material.

when I finished my studies, I realised that all I could think of was making things from clay, specially tableware and other useful objects. everyday i attended a local ceramics studio that teaches classes, but that also lets students develop their own projects. That was probably when I realized that it was getting serious, because I was doing this thing everyday, but still getting very excited about it.

This was also the time when I discovered the potters wheel, which completely changed my perspective of the material. it was hard to learn at the BEGINNING, because even though I was very excited to learn how to work with clay and to be better, I never found anyone that knew enough about it to teach me. my only option was to just buy a wheel and to train working with it by myself, which was sucsefull but it took much more time than I was expecting.

- A SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL AND MINIMAL APPROACH IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR WORK, WHERE DO FIND YOUR INSPIRATION ?

Most of my pieces started just as a need of mine. As a need for a certain type of bowl or a certain type of plate and I just made it. I have a certain obsession with things being useful, the ideia of having something that doesnt serve any of my needs is always a little weird to me. I feel like it is really importat to use things that are important to us, specially everyday things.

The inspiration for my work, comes mostly from my own everyday life. from simple routines and moments, from my SURROUNDINGS and the materials around me, the muddy terrains, the long sandy roads, the salty waters... I also get inspired by the strong funtional objects that last, and that is definitely my ultimate goal with the ceramics I produce. I like to leave clay in its natural form, and mostly why I don’t like to cover it with other colours and glazes, I love the material just as it is.

- IS THERE A PART OF YOUR PRACTICE THAT YOU ENJOY THE most ?

I really enjoy every part of the process, it almost makes me feel like I work in many different jobs. From thinking about the design and shape of the piece to the photography, it never gets boring. But I would say that the part of my job that brings me the most joy, has to be to throwing. pieces on the wheel. It is my little relaxing moment, where the hands and clay are almost the same, it is the time where something gets created almost as an extension of my body.

- HOW DO YOU FIT YOUR WORK INTO YOUR DAILY LIFE AND WHAT DOES A NORMAL WEEK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU ?

I have been working on Aquiles Cerâmica full time for about 2 years, and because this is a one woman business, it means that I am constantly thinking about it, even when I am not in the studio. It is something that needs constant attention and dedication.

Usually, there is no weekly routine. I have a daily work schedule that I try to follow, in order to make the my days very productive. I usually use most mornings to sort out emails or more bureaucratic stuff. during the afternoon I dedicate myself to the production and other messier tasks. I organise my week beforehand having in mind all the drying and firing times, to make the most of my week without having to rush anyhting.

The objects I make go through various stages before they are finally on the shelves to be sold.

The shapes I first make are usually my first prototypes, and as I use them at home I get to see how they can be improved. I usually have to adapt the dimensions or improve the proportions so the item can look or feel better.

Then the shape gets repeated over and over on the wheel until it gets to the point I want it.

My studio is in a very quiet neighberhood, and it has the most amazing big windows which let in beautiful light in the afternoon, thats my favourite time of the day to work.

After work, I tend to just go and relax by the beach or have a cup of coffee on my favourite speciality cafe in town, where I can drink from the cups I made.

- ANY FUTURE PLANS ?

I always have so many plans for the present and future, most of them never get to be done, but some, end up turning into something very important in my life, like for example, what I do for work right now. It started as an idea, that grew and grew and just had to be accomplished.

As I said earlier, I have a little obsession about functional things that we use in our daily lives, and one of my goals is to obviously improve and be better at what I do, so the objects can be the best possible. this is something that I know will last a lifetime. A lifetime of learning this amazing skill.

I hope to move to a bigger space soon, because Aquiles is growing rapidly and this studio I am in now is starting to feel a little small, even though I love the QUIETNESS of this space, I know that I´ll need to move eventually.