Ardmore Ceramics: A Collaborative Collection With Heart

For over 20 years, Elements boutique has been a mecca for Dallas’ best dressed, which is why we were surprised to learn the Lovers Lane fashion emporium is also home to a swoon-worthy collection of gifts and home décor.

Highlighting the impressive line-up: Ardmore Ceramics, recognized as modern day collectibles by renowned auction houses Christies and Sotheby’s. Elements owner Connie Sigel discovered the brand on a trip to South Africa.

“I was captivated by the unique and intricate safari animal designs and the brilliant colors,” she says.

“Each piece is truly a work of art and one-of-a-kind.”

An added bonus? Everything is handcrafted by local artists trained in Ardmore’s bustling South African studio.

Company roots date back to 1985. Visionary founder, Fée Halsted, was a young art student wondering what it meant to be South African living in apartheid in the 1980s. Her teacher, American ceramic artist David Middlebrook, encouraged his protégé to merge her social conscience with her European and African influences.

Not long after, Halsted began teaching ceramics to a talented group of rural women in a remote corner of the Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa — an area beset by racial, economic, and health challenges. One of her students, Bonnie Ntshalintshali, was a young African woman stricken with polio. Through trial and area, the pair developed what would become Ardmore’s colorful and evocative signature style.

Up until apartheid’s end in 1994, Halsted broke with every aspect of a South African life characterized by extreme racism. In addition to training and paying her workers well, she valued and encouraged their individual styles.

Ed Pascoe, a prominent American antique dealer, brought international attention to the brand. In 2008, he bought 40 pieces at a show in Johannesburg. Pascoe is now Ardmore’s U.S. distributor.

Each creation begins with a moment of inspiration —from an early morning walk to watching birds in the Ardmore Studio garden.

All artists are self-employed, but work within a supportive community environment that provides mentorship, materials, tools, and a guaranteed market for the pieces they produce.

“I love the fact that the company employs local people and trains them in their studios,” says Sigel. “They enjoy gainful employment in an area that is known to be quite economically challenged for many people of that country and nation.”

Intricate detailing characterize Ardmore’s unique wares.

Safari animals burst with life from lush foliage on vases, candlesticks, tureens, platters, and teapots. There are also exciting forms of sculptural art based on Zulu folklore and tribal traditions. Every piece is a true collaboration. Multiple artists — a thrower, a sculptor, and a painter — typically work on each creation.

In 2010, the company introduced an experimental — and hugely successful— textile range. Every fabric pattern tells a story, from the initial pencil sketch to final design. The collection includes an exquisite assortment of pillows, placemats, napkins, and candles.

Today, Ardmore supports over 85 African artists in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal.

Vessels and sculptures are featured in the Museum of Arts and Design’s permanent collection in New York and in the Museum of Cultures in Basel, Switzerland. The largest American collection can be seen at the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts in South Florida. Well-known collectors include actress Helen Mirren, singer Eric Clapton, and soprano Sarah Brightman.  

Ardmore: We Are Because of Others traces the company’s extraordinary story, from humble beginnings to fame as a producer of exceptional objets d’art. Yet despite the success of her business, Halsted maintains that Ardmore is much more than a commercial undertaking.

“We are not simply a factory churning out one teapot or candlestick after another,” she says. ‘We champion the individual over the brand. Each piece has a much deeper underlying content – the story of that artist’s culture, his viewpoint, and his daily struggles.

See the collection in store or online at Elements, 4400 West Lovers Lane, Dallas.