JOHANNES TSANG

"I studied ceramics at the Rietveld Academy. But after graduating I found out art wasn’t my thing. So I started working in kitchens as a chef, which felt natural to me as my parents owned a restaurant back in Vancouver. But then I realized I wanted to make plates. I just didn't know how.

“Around that time chef Arjen Wennekes from John Dory (an acclaimed fine dining restaurant in Amsterdam, ed.) approached me about making custom ceramic plates. He ended up selecting two designs, 50 of each, tailored to a specific dish. We realized some chefs want their ceramics crafted to their identity, not the ceramicist's design.”

“A thorough line through all of our clients is that they have a similar ethos of wanting to take care of people, of being conscious of the smallest details. They put a lot of thought into everything.”

"We usually start the process of working with chefs by asking questions, to better understand the ethos behind a restaurant. Do you offer a tasting menu or à la carte? Is there a signature dish that could benefit from a certain plate? Choosing custom tableware is an intuitive process, but practicalities matter too. For instance, whether a ware stands up to heavy service. It’s entirely tailored to a client and their space, and the process takes longer than if you would pick something out of a catalogue. But it really adds another layer to the dining experience.”

"My favourite thing about stoneware is you can make anything, any circular shape. You morph it into what you like, and if it doesn't come out right on the wheel, you trim, you subtract. I love how colour affects how you experience food. And I love hand-brushing glaze — we use very specific Japanese brushes.”

"Adding colour to a ceramic glaze is almost like cooking — you need salt, pepper, acid and so forth to make a complete dish. Sometimes we use pigments, sometimes natural materials like copper or iron. The strange thing about glazing is that you don't know what you'll get until the heat hits it. It’s a complete stranger until you get to know it. Like a wallflower, or an introvert. It's not until you speak to them that they show their true colours."

"It’s funny I became a ceramicist, as it requires so much patience, and I don’t consider myself a patient person at all. Creating custom ceramics can be a fairly long process of going back and forth with a client. But also working with clay is slow by design — you have to take your time. Every step toward the kiln, you're at the mercy of chance. There are so many times when you open the kiln and think: oh no. What happened?

"Discipline is what keeps me coming back. The pursuit of the craft. Our clients trust our expertise and our approach – that took years of hard work, and it's fulfilling. But it adds pressure too, because it's not just about the client anymore. It's about trusting our own vision.”

"We always have music on in the studio — songs with a lot of feeling. Nothing bland. Horace Brown, Garfield Fleming, Busta, Babyface, Warren G, Missy. Sometimes Bon Iver, sometimes deep techno, Little Dragon, Coolio, sometimes classical. Friday is salsa day, something celebratory. It's about the mood you want to create. A bad day calls for something uplifting. Or if you want to wallow, you’ll put on Bon Iver. Music really does shape how I make."

"I'm still working on having hobbies. I used to play competitive pool here in Amsterdam at a pretty high level. What starts as a hobby always gets intense with me. I want to take everything to the next level, and then the pressure creeps in."

"I live in Bos en Lommer, near Farine, the bakery. Fuku Cafe is great too. I love the Saturday market at Noordermarkt. It’s like a little gift to yourself to cap off the week. I love the bratwurst special at Fluks & Sons, a stall on the Lindengracht that has been there for years. I'm learning to walk more, to really see how beautiful Amsterdam is. Fog, rain or sun."

"What I miss most about Canada is running down the hill to my aunt's house, where the whole family gathers around the table to eat. That's always been my compass. My grandparents are gone now, but my aunties have their own kids, and they still gather at that table we grew up around, eating those same family dishes. Living somewhere else, you appreciate that more. You try to recreate it and build new traditions with the people around you.”