Torc Pots create handmade artisan designs in natural materials, working with architects and designers to support them across commercial and residential projects.
Torc Pots produce their designs from a studio in the British Isles, creating beautiful pots and planters to enhance any space. Working alongside a talented team of artisans, this family run business specialises in textures, scale and bespoke design.
Torc products are shaped by hand until they take on their own unique form – no two pots are ever quite the same. The bespoke design side of the business is continually growing and Torc welcome the opportunity to be involved at any stage of the design process, working across commercial and residential spaces.
Alongside a talented team of artisans, Torc is a family business run by Hylton and Nicole Hugo. We caught up with Nicole to find out about their products and how they work to support architects and designers on projects.
Can you tell us about the design background and history of Torc Pots?
Hylton is the head potter at Torc, and he has a background in residential property development with 25 years experience; he founded the brand after making and developing pots to enhance the outdoor spaces of the properties he was working on – he had found it impossible to source large scale planters that were aesthetically pleasing. Interest grew in the planters he was making, and so Torc was born.
Hylton has a vast knowledge of engineering, architecture and development because of his property background, so he has a wealth of knowledge to provide to architects and designers as to what will or won’t work.
The team is made up of family members as well as other artisans who hand sculpt all of the products. We sculpt all of our pieces either on a table or large scale potter’s wheels and therefore we are not restricted by using the “mould” method. This gives us huge scope to create any size or shape our clients desire from pebble seats, water features, outdoor furniture for public realm, fire pits and planters.
What has been your most successful milestone to date?
Our involvement at Chelsea Flower Show across the board supporting various designers and winning Silver Gilt on our own garden in collaboration with another company.
How do you manage working globally?
We send our products across the world from the middle east to the west coast of America and everything is crated and managed by various transport companies alongside zoom meetings with designers worldwide. Some of the designers make a visit to our studio if the order is particularly large and a brainstorming session is needed.
How do you tackle issues surrounding sustainability in the design industry in your own studio and processes?
Currently 60% of the materials used in our pots is recycled. Our wash facility is run on recycled water so we are using the same water over and over. We have minimal waste material as we always have a wheel available to use up the last mixture of the day – we do not “fire” our products using high energy kilns but instead we “cure” them slowly through hydration. Ultimately the material we use is incredibly durable and should last a lifetime – that is very sustainable!
What are you focused on for 2024?
Creating new shapes and introducing new products to the range generally, alongside opening a new showroom in the UK so that we are more accessible to designers and architects.
www.torcpots.com | IG: @torc_pots
