About
Get to know us
Atelier Lālmitti is a clay studio located in the heart of the Indian Himalayas, near Dharamshala, in the village of Andretta. Nestled in a stunning location overlooking the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas, it is a special place for the arts in general and ceramics in particular.
The name Atelier Lālmitti reflects the diversity of our setup. Atelier is ‘studio’ in French, while Lālmitti translates both as ‘precious clay’ in Persian and ‘red clay’ in Hindi. The studio is run by Élodie Alexandre and Reyaz Badaruddin, a ceramic artist duo from France and India. They collaborate for Atelier Lālmitti and also pursue their own practice as individual artists.
meet the founders
Reyaz is an Indian ceramic artist who has participated in several national and international shows and residencies. He also taught ceramics for many years in New Delhi. He trained both in India and the UK.
Élodie is a French artist who specialises in ceramics and illustration. She holds a BA and MA in ceramics from Cardiff School of Art and Design, UK.
To visit their art space, please click below.
pottery
Our red earthenware pieces are mostly made on the potter’s wheel, finished by hand and stamped with our little cat logo before being fired a first time. After this initial ‘bisque’ firing, the pots are dipped in glaze. The small recess areas which can be spotted on all of our pots are the finger-grip marks which occur while dipping. We like to leave this as a feature and a trace of the hand of the maker. As with the rest of the process, it contributes to make each and every piece unique. Using brushes, we paint our designs and patterns over the glaze with pigments, after which the pots go through a second firing to earthenware temperature.
Our pottery is safe for food and drinks, and dishes and bowls are oven-proof. We recommend washing all our pieces by hand and would advise against frequent use in the microwave.
