Turning a ceramics studio into a direct-to-consumer brand

The challenge

Terra & Kiln makes every piece by hand in a small studio outside Bristol. Most of their sales came from markets and two stockists. Their online shop converted poorly, and one in five orders came back because customers were surprised by the size, weight or glaze.

Our approach

We treated returns as a content problem. If customers knew exactly what they were buying, they would keep it. We photographed every piece in hands and in real rooms, measured everything, and wrote product copy with the makers.

1. Interview the makers and record the story behind each collection
2. Design product pages that answer size, weight and care questions up front
3. Build a fast storefront with Next.js and manage every product in Sanity

The solution

Each collection now opens with a short film still and a note from the maker. Product pages show the piece next to everyday objects for scale, list exact dimensions, and explain how the glaze changes with use.

Customers now tell us the pieces are exactly what they expected, which is the best review we could ask for.

The results

Online revenue more than doubled in the first year and returns fell by 22 percent. The studio now sells more online than at markets, and has hired two new makers to keep up.