Apprenticeship at Mill Creek Pottery

In February 2023 I moved to Mill Creek Pottery, Pawnee, Illinois for 18 months to join wood-firing potter Simon Levin as his next apprentice. Simon has been running a prestigious apprenticeship programme since 2004 and after being invited to Wisconsin to join his annual anagama workshop in July 2022, I’m delighted to have been accepted to hone my woodfiring knowledge with him. 

The Arts Council of Wales have generously provided me with a ‘Create’ grant to fund this professional development programme. I’m also grateful to the North American Wales Foundation for their generosity in providing financial assistance as well as International Arts and Artists who have sponsored my US visa. You can keep up to date with my progress via the blog section of my website and learn more about our firing process through the video below.

Molton Brown x Elin Hughes

Earlier in 2023 I teamed up with iconic British fragrance company Molton Brown to design and make a limited edition run of bottle holders. It was great to finally be able to share the fruits of our collaboration ‘Broken Beauty’ this summer, as the project launched exclusively in Molton Brown's flagship London Regent Street store in July.

The pioneering company which was founded in 1971, debuted their “Artists In Residence Collaboration” this year, which will become an annual series supporting local craftsmanship and spotlighting up-and-coming British creatives. Riffing off the different characters of the company's cult fragrances – Orange & Bergamot, Delicious Rhubarb & Rose and Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel, I crafted a run of 75 holders for Molton's refillable Hand Wash Glass Bottle. These distorted vessels of scalloped arcs and looping tendrils ripple, swirl and pull apart as an embodiment of growth. You can learn more about the project here: Regent Street Exclusive

To learn more about past projects visit the Gallery section

Pictured: Gaudy Welsh collaboration with Leigh Chappell Flowers and Oriel Myrddin