Meet Ditte Fischer - Danish Ceramicist Extraordinaire with a Passion for Nordic Minimalism and Functionality

We find the workshop of Danish ceramicist Ditte Fischer on a quiet side street in the vibrant Nørrebro neighborhood of Copenhagen. When we enter we are met by her business partner and husband Anders who is heading out to the Ditte Fischer Copenhagen retail boutique in downtown Copenhagen. Ditte is working in the studio today and shares the story behind her new K-Collection and what inspires her to create.

Tell us a little about yourself, what is your background?

I graduated with a MA in Design (ceramics) from the Danish Royal Academy in Copenhagen in 1995. Since graduating I have worked professionally as a ceramic designer with production, wholesale and retail shop. I have been running Ditte Fischer Copenhagen with my husband Anders Fischer since 2004.

What inspired you to start your own business and why did you choose to work with ceramics?

Ever since I was little I have always wanted to work in a creative capacity. When I was a teenager my mom brought me to evening classes, where we made various objects in clay and it was here my fascination with working with clay began. Unfired clay is a soft and pliable material and provides endless possibilities of working with design in a free process. The unfired clay can be processed right until it dries and is fired for the first time, where after the material is “locked” in the desired shape. Since then, I just knew that I wanted to make a career out of it.

How would you describe your style and what inspired you?

I am very into nature and the different moods it evokes in me. Nature gives me an inner calm I use in my work and when I design. I simplify and clean my ideas for any distracting elements so that they stand simple, easily recognizable, and with a strong visual expression.

Tell us a little about your new K-Collection

The collection’s two cups K1 and K2 were created from a desire to design cups that are simple and opens invitingly towards the user - like a goblet.

The colours are brought from the nature around the Danish coast, which is my favourite place to be. It is the beach, meadow, dune, fjord , and ocean . The colours are soft and muted to underscore the calm I feel when I am in nature near the coast.

As a designer what part of the design do you like the most? 

The cup is glazed both on the inside and on the outside, but the small base is unglazed on the outside. The contrast between glazed and unglazed is a characteristic that I have always worked with in my designs and it underscores the simple yet strong visual expression that is my design DNA.

I always use references from earlier works in my design, and the K-cups are no exception. The gentle curve on the K-cup’s stand is from the Anniversary Cup I designed on request from the Danish Art Foundation, for their 50th anniversary.

How do you hope the people who buy the cups use them?

K1 and K2 were designed to be multi-functional cups. They can be used to drink from, as a small dessert bowl, for snacks, or as a tealight candle holder.

Do you have any future projects?

It is the plan to expand the K-Collection with bowls, a teapot and more.

Shop the K-Collection here