The Gordon Family are third generation potters, who design, make and manufacture a huge range of ceramics out of their Pakenham factory in Melbourne’s South East. Robert Gordon design their own extensive range of tableware and homewares, and are also well known for the bespoke tableware they create for Melbourne’s many excellent restaurants. You’ve probably eaten from a Robert Gordon plate without realising, some of their more high profile clients include George Calombaris, Andrew McConnell and Guy Grossi!
We have also been pretty fortunate to work with the Gordons over the past few years. With their expertise, we developed a limited range of handmade ceramics for TDF Open House in 2014, and this month we’ve joined forces with them again for Tasty Tuesday, authored by chef Mauro Callegari of The Independent, an Argentinian restaurant in Gembrook which Mauro co-owns with the Gordon Family.
Our obsession with the Gordons has recently extended to a daily office ritual. We now only drink our morning tea from one of these new Robert Gordon ‘Organic’ mugs! Kate Gordon, head designer and potter, says the new range of Melt mugs and Organic mugs are inspired by her Dad’s work from the 1970s. ‘We often draw on ideas from the past, our history and old glaze recipes’ she says.
Made from high fired stoneware, each mug is moulded, poured, fettled, bisque fired to 1000c and then glazed by hand. ‘The glazing process takes some time, each piece is double dipped in bins of glaze, then colours are applied by brush’ explains Kate. The layering of the glazes makes for a glorious, runny, molten effect, and ensures that no two pieces are ever quite the same.
Robert Gordon’s Melt mug and Organic mug collections are available online here and here.
