A visit at Ursula Vogel's Goodlife Ceramics Studio

On a rainy afternoon in a quiet residential area in Zürich’s West I find myself checking the maps on my mobile after every step. It is not the typical area you would be looking for a creative space - though finally I spot a building that looks like a former automobile garage. There we go - after the usual turning left and right until you find the entrance Ursula Vogel opens the door to a large hall.

Ursula Vogel founder of Goodlife Ceramics shares the large two-story building with some like-minded creatives like Kueng Caputo.

The spacious room is filled with works in all stages, some ready to be delivered others just freshly thrown. The heart of the studio is the oven, who is shared with other artists. Not every ceramic artist has an own oven -” so we share, you know some just drive her to have their works finished” Ursula tells.

The step of the firing is the moment of truth - “does it cracks or even falls apart? - it is sometimes heartbreaking if you see that the countless hours of work just end up in a pile of cracked fragments” but it is part of the process and even experienced ceramic artists face this trouble.

“It is also the fascination of the medium” Ursula tells me.

Her fine and organic designs are sought after by some of the best chefs around and she tells me about her latest work for the restaurant of the KKL in Luzern and the bespoke pieces she creates for Maison Manesse in Zürich. Some of those pieces can be bought in store and online.

GOODLIFE CERAMICS FOR KKL - COFFEE CUP

At the end of the visit we can agree that probably the fascination for the hand thrown ceramics derives from the uniqueness every piece comes with and the satisfaction  it gives us to be using crafted items in our everyday life.