Jasmijn Vermue was one of the first makers we approached for TAS. We spotted her cups at a local market in Rotterdam and instantly fell in love. Even more so when we learned about saggar firing, the unique technique she uses and spent months researching and experimenting with. Meet your maker: 

Where does your journey start? 

"I first completed my bachelor's degree in Industrial Product Design in Groningen. I really enjoyed it, but it was very engineering-focused. It wasn't really about the looks of the product or the story behind it. And that's what I was missing.

For example, I designed a barbecue and a coffee machine. The challenge was figuring out where to place the heating element. I didn't really enjoy working on those kinds of technical details."

After your bachelor's, you started a master's at the Willem de Kooning Academy. What was your first introduction to ceramics?

"In October 2024, I took a workshop in the ceramics studio. I'd never worked with clay before, but it felt very accessible, which I really appreciated.

When you're just starting out, you can make something that's honestly quite ugly. Then you pick a glaze off the shelf, make it bright red, and somehow it still comes out of the kiln looking pretty good. That's when you really see the beauty of handmade work. I hadn't experienced that with other materials, but I immediately saw it in ceramics."

Jasmijns unique cups are shaped by hand and then refined by gently trimming the edges 

How did you end up behind the potter's wheel?

"I really wanted to learn how to throw on the wheel. That was an adventure in itself because I didn't find it easy at all. It took a lot of trial and error. But after a while, I noticed I was improving. It became a bit of an obsession. I'd think, 'I can make something ten centimetres high now. Next I want to make a fifteen-centimetre cup.' It was such a rewarding process.

Eventually I thought, 'Okay, I can make bowls. I can make cups. I've mastered the basics. What else is there to learn?' Ceramics is an endless medium. There are glazes, different clays, firing techniques... That's when I started looking into saggar firing because it's so unpredictable."

The process of adding organic material to the cups 

What is saggar firing?

"Saggar firing is an alternative firing technique, although it still takes place in a regular electric ceramics kiln, unlike many other alternative firing methods.

First, you make a large ceramic container. I believe the word 'saggar' comes from 'safeguard'—it's essentially a protective vessel. Then, in my case, I make cups or bowls, wrap them in all kinds of organic materials, and place everything together inside the saggar. The lid goes on to seal it, and the whole thing goes into the kiln. Inside the kiln, the organic and natural materials burn. The fire leaves marks behind, and those traces become embedded in the clay.

That's what I love most about it. You can literally see where every material was placed. You can tell, 'This is where the grass was,' or 'This is where the piece of steel wool was.' I use steel wool because of the iron—it creates these beautiful dark brown and almost black markings."

A selection of the cups available in Jasmijns shop 

Your graduation research focuses on invisible labour. How does that connect to saggar firing?

"During the Renaissance, it became a status symbol to have your wife stay at home making textiles. Women were also excluded from the guilds. Then industrialisation came along, making textile repair seem even less valuable because everything could suddenly be produced much faster.

It's also a type of labour that's meant to be invisible. If your clothes have a hole, you simply want it repaired. You don't want to notice the repair. The same goes for so much domestic work—folding laundry, washing, drying. All you ever see are the clean clothes.

That's why I find saggar firing so beautiful. The labour becomes part of the final object. You can clearly see which materials touched which parts of the piece.

Sometimes you can even see my fingerprints. I don't leave them there on purpose—it's not a gimmick. But they make the making process visible."

Jasmijn behind the pottery wheel at the Willem de Kooning Academy 

What do you enjoy most about being an artist?

"I'm not even sure I see myself as an artist. I think of myself more as a design researcher. That's actually what I enjoy most. It's not just making things; it's also the research beforehand. Before I achieved these effects—and before I could explain why different materials create different results—I spent months experimenting.

I tried different forms on the wheel, different surface finishes, different organic materials. How do they react to each other? What kind of smoke do they produce? That smoke also leaves marks. It took a very long time to understand all of that."

At TAS, we hope to help our artists earn a living from their work. Are you able to make a living from your practice?

"The answer is no. And I actually feel a bit uncomfortable saying that. Right now I charge €30 for these cups, and at least that covers my material costs.

Those costs aren't very high because I can still use the facilities at Willem de Kooning Academy. So I'm not losing money, but it's definitely not sustainable in the long run."

How much time goes into making one cup?

"About two and a half hours per cup. That includes cleaning up and preparing the clay. You have to wedge the clay properly, and there are so many different steps.

Throwing on the wheel actually goes quite quickly now because I've done it so many times. Trimming is also fairly fast. But there are countless steps in between that take a lot of time.

When I calculate it, I earn around €10 an hour. That's below minimum wage."

When removing items from the saggar, unique patterns are revealed 

What's your dream?

"My dream is to one day make a living from my own design practice. I imagine taking on different roles because I really love combining research, design and making. That's exactly what I've done here.

I couldn't be happy if all I did was research without making anything with my hands. But I also wouldn't enjoy only making things. I've done that too, and then I don't get to use my mind enough. That drives me a little crazy.

It's precisely that combination that I find so fulfilling."

You can find all Jasmijns items in her shop on The Artist Survives. TAS is an ethical vendor platform for creative makers that focusses on sharp curation, a fair price and real art by real people. 

Text & Photography by Mayke Blok