In the Dutch Light: DēWē Ceramics and the Art of Organic Forms

Makers

3 Jun

Written By Anca Enica

Portrait of Desiree Weerts in the Amsterdam ceramics studio, surrounded by wheel-thrown ceramic art in organic shapes — **people • artists**

DēWē Ceramics is an Amsterdam ceramics studio founded by Desiree Weerts, celebrated for its unique approach to ceramic art. Each piece is wheel-thrown in small batches, blending minimalist design with natural textures and earthy tones. Inspired by the elements and organic shapes in art, her collections explore the possibilities of ceramic forms—balancing function, sculpture, and a distinctly process driven design philosophy. Through a deep connection to material and craft, Desiree’s work invites us to slow down and appreciate the quiet beauty in everyday objects.

Words: designeers
june 2025

WEBSITE: dewe-ceramics.com
INSTAGRAM: @dewe_ceramics

DESIGNEERS

Can you tell us about the moment that first pulled you into the world of ceramics?

Dewe Ceramics

It wasn’t a dramatic shift, more like a quiet decision. I had just returned from a long trip and knew I wanted to work with my hands after years behind a screen. I started with clay, fascinated by the different stages of clay and the endless types of ceramics one can create. Like starting a new study, I was learning this craft and how to design at the same time.

DESIGNEERS

Sum up your design aesthetic in just three words:

Dewe Ceramics

Form, repeat, rethink.

I often begin with one form or idea that feels right, a starting point for my process driven design approach. From there, I keep going, repeating to refine and see the piece more clearly. Each new work builds on the last, sometimes close, sometimes a step away, always evolving my ceramic forms. It’s a way of thinking through making.

Shelves and pedestals displaying handmade ceramics with natural textures and earthy tones in a process driven design studio

Row of sculptural black ceramic forms with organic shapes on a studio table

DESIGNEERS

If you could time travel to any art movement or era, where would you go and why?

Dewe Ceramics

If I could time travel to any art movement, I’d go to the Japanese Mingei pottery movement. I’m drawn to how this form of Japanese folk art values the handmade and the everyday, things made with care but without showing off. That way of looking feels close to how I want to work.

DESIGNEERS

Who are your top three interior designers you would like to collaborate with?

Dewe Ceramics

I’m drawn to spaces with air and intention, as well as character and personality. Axel Vervoordt creates rooms that feel like they’ve always been there. Faye Toogood works intuitively across materials and scales, often playing with organic shapes in art and design. Arjaan De Feyter works with calm and clarity, a quality I admire. In both their work and my own, there’s an attention to how space holds light and to the quiet interplay between organic shapes and structure. My own approach is very much a process driven design philosophy, paying close attention to these subtle shifts.

Wheel-thrown ceramic vessel in earthy tones, showcasing minimalist design and craftsmanship

Shelves filled with handcrafted ceramics in organic forms and natural clay tones at the Amsterdam ceramics studio

Minimalist ceramic vase with gradient natural textures, created by DēWē Ceramics

“Each new piece builds on the last, sometimes close, sometimes a step away. It’s a way of thinking through making.”

Dewe Ceramics

DESIGNEERS

Favourite design hotel in the world, the one you still dream about?

Dewe Ceramics

Zaborin Ryokan, in Hokkaido, is high on my list. A quiet house in the snow, with your own onsen and a meal that feels like a slow ceremony. The combination of landscape, architecture and food speaks to me.

Juvet Landscape Hotel, in the mountains of Norway, is another place I dream of. The architecture is quiet and strong with glass, wood and silence. It feels like the kind of place where everything slows down and the outside becomes part of the inside.

We travel a lot in our camper, too. I love that feeling of freedom. Being in motion and at home at the same time.

DESIGNEERS

No budget, no limits, no rules, what would your ultimate ceramic project look like?

Dewe Ceramics

I’d create a series of sculptural ceramic forms set in a wide, empty landscape, maybe Iceland, maybe the desert. These would be organic shapes with no plinths and no explanation, blurring the line between ceramic art and nature itself. Just form, space, and time, something you’d encounter and wonder if it had always belonged there.

Hand lifting the lid of a matte black ceramic vessel in the process driven ceramics studio

Assortment of ceramic bowls and vessels in early stages of clay on a work table

DESIGNEERS

If you could have dinner with any three artists, living or dead, who would they be, and what’s on the menu?

Dewe Ceramics

At first, I thought of artists who feel close to my own practice. People like Edmund de Waal, Andrea Zittel, or Barbara Hepworth. I admire their sense of form, space, and restraint. I think we’d understand each other. But the table might be too harmonious. I’d probably learn more from friction.

So instead, I’d invite people who move differently. Louise Bourgeois, for the raw honesty in her work. Marina Abramović, even though I think she would make me uncomfortable (in a way that might be good for me) and Kara Walker, whose work cuts deep and doesn’t look away.

I’d be there to observe. It would probably shift how I see.

We’d eat something simple but full of flavour. Maybe a stew, bitter greens, bread with a hard crust. Something slow to hold the conversation and something sharp to finish. Citrus, salt, maybe a little fire to keep us sharp.