OUR NEW CERAMIC COLLECTION
This May, we’ll be introducing our first ceramic lighting and table collection, developed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based ceramicist Christopher Merchant. Right now, we’re still in the prototyping phase, and we wanted to share a quick glimpse into that process.
Above: Brooklyn-based designer Christopher Merchanti n his studio, sculpting tables with his signature extrusion and hand-building process. Our new collection together pays homage to Chris’s design sensibility, brought to life through the ceramic expertise of our local partners, Chuanlhong.
Ceramic is a material we’ve been curious about for a long time.
Northern Thailand has a deep history of ceramic production, dating back centuries to the Lanna region, where clay was shaped into water jars, storage vessels, and ceremonial objects for everyday life.
More recently, after the discovery of rich kaolin clay deposits in Lampang, that knowledge was expanded and transformed through local workshops and factories, establishing the region as one of the world’s most important ceramic manufacturing hubs, known for its material expertise, technical innovation, and mastery of glaze and firing.
Ceramic is a material we’ve been curious about for a long time.
Northern Thailand has a deep history of ceramic production, dating back centuries to the Lanna region, where clay was shaped into water jars, storage vessels, and ceremonial objects for everyday life.
More recently, after the discovery of rich kaolin clay deposits in Lampang, that knowledge was expanded and transformed through local workshops and factories, establishing the region as one of the world’s most important ceramic manufacturing hubs, known for its material expertise, technical innovation, and mastery of glaze and firing.
While Christopher’s solo practice primarily works through extrusion, the pieces we’ve been developing here in Thailand have explored a wider range of making techniques—from hand-building and slip casting to 3D printing. These methods are brought together and refined through Chuanlhong Ceramics’ 30 years of experience with glazing, allowing the material to fully come into its own.
Above - Glaze tests on our original batch of lighting prototypes designed by Christopher Merchant.
What we’re most excited about at this stage isn’t the final objects, but the process itself. PERN BAAN has always been committed to creating an exchange through craft, and it’s truly been a joy to connect Chris’s vision with the skill of Chuanlhong’s artisans.
We’ll be sharing more as the collection comes into focus over the coming months. Thanks as always for following along!
-Robert Sukrachand
