Ceramicist Helen Levi shares how her clay tiles became our new sink accessories.

Corduroy Tiles Photo: Helen Levi

I first started exploring the ribbed texture on these pieces several years ago when a studio-mate of mine, a metalworker, fabricated a custom metal die for my clay extruder. An extruder is a manual tool that pushes clay through a silhouette, kind of like a giant Play Doh pasta maker (and there's definite Rigatoni vibes here).

Corduroy Cups and Mugs Photo: Helen Levi

I first started making cylindrical shapes like cups and vases, but then explored cutting up sections of the ribbed clay and laying it out - which led to a line of flat wall tiles, released last year with Ceramica Suro. I've also applied the texture to a line of beeswax candles, that started as clay originals.

Corduroy Beeswax Candle Photo: Helen Levi

I was particularly interested in working with Areaware to make a soap dispenser because that's been a really popular piece for me, and using their 3D printer, I was able to apply the ribbed texture to shapes that I wouldn't be able to achieve in-house. This was a brand new way of designing for me and allowed me to wrap the ribbing around different silhouettes.