STRATUS: CERAMICS WITH PASSION In the summer issue of M Magazine we would like to introduce Mr Krzysztof Bocian, a designer and ceramist, the Stratus brand owner and creator of unique functional ceramics. Krzysztof is one of those who have given up their careers (the marine career in his case) to follow their dreams. Just read his story and view the exceptional ceramics he makes.
A f te r a y e a r s p e nt at t h e G d y n i a Maritime University, I’d already got a rough idea of what my career would be like and decided it wasn’t for me. Ev e ntu a ll y, I g r a d u ate d f ro m t h e Printing Technology Department at the Warsaw University of Technology and worked in the printing industry for a couple of years. I had a great job designing packaging and other cardboard products; a bit of technology and a bit of creativity. Unfortunately, a constant tightening of the screws on you so that tasks are performed and deadlines are met causes wear and tear in the end. Such was the case with me. I saved enough money to open my own ceramic studio, though. I made ceramics to commission, gathered knowledge and experience. I created small collections of pottery. After six years, I did something I could call my first big success. It was in 2018 when the Stratus brand came into being. However, let’s go 8 years back. The story of my ceramics begins in a very ordinary way. You always have to start somehow. Preferably from scratch, nothing. Nothing – that was what I knew about ceramics when I attended the ceramics workshops for the first time in my life. I was looking for a new hobby. I really took to it and decided I might as well
20 | Summer 2020 | Lifestyle
do it at home. The only drawback to my idea was that I had to take the created pieces for firing in a ceramic kiln somewhere. And I did it, packing them carefully and watching out for potholes in the road so that they would get to the kiln in one piece. “I’ll make ceramics.” Having taken the decision, I signed a lease agreement to rent a studio and so it went off somehow. Somehow is a key word because at the beginning it wasn’t actually somehow but rather anyhow. Let me pause here to say that I had no background in ceramic engineering and no knowledge of how to make ceramics. Technology was one thing. The other, probably more important one, was my lack of background in art, design. For years, I hadn’t
For the whole story and the current offer of the Stratus products, we invite you, on behalf of Krzysztof Bocian, to visit the website: stratusceramics.com
Stratus: Krzysztof’s memories
