JAKE STANGEL x HEATH CERAMICS
Jake directed his first video with Heath Ceramics' clay studio director, Tung Chiang, in his San Francisco workspace in 2018. The two met four years earlier on an editorial assignment for AFAR Magazine and bonded over a shared appreciation of their respective crafts. Jake says, "Spending time in Tung’s studio is calming meditative and soothing I wanted the video to reflect that." Since then, Jake and Heath Ceramics have collaborated on three more videos.
Scroll down to read more from Jake and click the video previews below to watch the full videos.
“Heath Ceramics is a funny one. People either really know it deeply, or they have never heard of the company at all. Those who know it, know it. The timeless shape of the pieces, the iconic color of the glazes, ceramics steeped in lineage, but also looking forward. As their clay studio director Tung Chiang once told me, ‘We are looking to make something that feels like it's part of your memory.’ Which might be my favorite quote ever.”
“I've been lucky enough to work on a range of projects with the company that have continually deepened my reverence of the Heath ethos. Ninety-nine percent of folks who engage with the product only see the end result. They don't see the process, how many hands it touches, how much love and consideration a plate or bowl or mug receives before it ends up in their home, often used daily, forever.
Forever. Heath is not a fast company. Nothing is rushed. From concept to design to manufacturing (to video editing). There's a glorious, slow-paced focus in all these processes, a profoundly deep consideration of shape, weight, use—how a piece feels in your hand, fits in your life, used every day, for years."
"Heath commissioned me to make videos that explore and reflect their ethos. I see it as a collaborative opportunity to not only bring viewers on a tour of the factory, but to drop in to the soul of the company: a collection of individuals who live and breathe turning clay into pieces you cherish forever.
To echo the pace of the company, we set out to make slow, calm, powerful videos. A little anachronistic to the quick-cut edits of right now but something that will hold for years, in the spirit of the company.”
