In the Atelier With: Annemieke Boots Ceramics

Annemieke Boots wasn’t always a ceramic artist. Her career began at an interiors boutique in Amsterdam, selling Asian furniture and accessories, and was also in charge of the marketing, sales, styling and maintaining contact with customers. After a few years, Boots felt it was time for something new, something creative. Question was, what?

While on holiday in Sweden, Annemicke paid a visit to the ceramicist Ingvar Bengtsson’s atelier. This visit would prove to be life-changing, bringing magic to her eyes as she watched Bengtsson work. The ceramicist asked if Boots wanted to learn, and the rest, as they say, is history. She returned home, purchased her first turntable, signed up for a course and went searching for a studio space. In her own words, “I feel very at home in the ‘slow movement’, conscious living and an appreciation for details; enjoying the small things in daily life. Ceramics is in a way a slow paced art. You can’t rush clay, it takes time and attention to shape it, dry it, fire it, glaze it, fire it some more and then finish it.”

Recently, Holly Marder of Avenue Design Studio (based in The Hague, The Netherlands), stopped by the bright Amsterdam studio that Annemieke shares with three other ceramicists, and took these beautiful photographs of the ceramic artist doing what she loves. Boots now works in the studio full time, happily exclaiming, “There’s something special about eating off a beautiful, hand turned plate, I am convinced the food tastes better! But seeing people love my products simply amazes me and fills me with satisfaction and pride. I am so grateful to be able to do what I love every day!”

Read the last instalment of this series here.