Reproducing logos in pottery - experimenting with new techniques

Creating branded pottery can be quite a challenging aspect of making but it is often requested for collaborations with other businesses. Normally I rely on tried and true methods like transfers, metal stamps, and rubber stamps to get logos onto clay. I recently tried something new - using my cricut to cut a custom logo stencil for Plewsy and applying it with black slip to a slab. I think this method could open up new possibilities for adding branding to pottery.

Transfers allow for quite fine detail and exact reproductions for logos but can be expensive due to the necessary third firing to adhere it onto the surface of the pot. Metal and rubber stamps offer a more tactile reproduction with embossed impressions having a more handcrafted feel. Rubber stamps can be used with underglaze for stamping on the bottom of pots but custom stamps still have to be made up for each customer.

I’ve been experimenting with using my cricut for a variety of decorative projects. For this I used a high quality digital file of the logo and imported it into the cricut software for the machine to cut quite a fine text logo. The stencil was applied to the surface of a clay slab I rolled out and applied black slip over the stencil, I quite like the raised surface the slip has created on the surface. If I was to do this again I kind of wish I’d made the linework a bit thicker - particularly on the tild symbols which were particularly fine and fiddly to have the machine cut.

I think it does really offer a new way to reproduce logos however, it’s great for a more truly handmade look and cuts out some of the costs associated with other methods and more faithful to the original logos than hand painting. I’ll continue to experiment with my cricut, it’s become quite useful in the studio!