User:Fabledclay/sandbox

Florian Gadsby
Florian Gadsby, (born 1992) is a British ceramicist, online personality and video producer who works in London, United Kingdom.

Education
Gadsby was born in 1992 in Great Yarmouth. From 1999 to 2012 he underwent a Waldorf education and completed a short work placement at the Leach Pottery, assisting lead potter and then director Jack Doherty. Upon graduation Gadsby then trained on the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland's Ceramic Skills and Design Course. In 2014 Gadsby graduated the DCCoI Ceramic Skills and Design Training Course as 'Student of the Course'.

Apprenticeships
In 2014 Gadsby began a three year apprenticeship with soda-firing potter, Lisa Hammond MBE, at her studio Maze Hill Pottery in Greenwich, London, here he learnt to raw glaze, soda fire and produce the functional range made and sold at Maze Hill Pottery.

Between 2017 and 2018, Gadsby spent six months in Mashiko, Japan, training with master potter Ken Matsuzaki, who himself was the apprentice to Mingei potter Tatsuzō Shimaoka. Here Gadsby held his first solo exhibition at Kanoya Gallery.

Studio and Style
Florian established his own ceramics studio in 2019 in High Barnet, London. He is known for his simple, reduction fired functional pottery along with his online presence, which started on Instagram, where since 2014 he has shared photographs and films of his practice, together with documenting his apprenticeships. Alongside producing handmade pottery, which he sells through his own online website,  'I put my work on sale on Instagram, people go through to my website and it sells out in minutes.’ Florian also creates longer films on YouTube, here he currently has a following of 700,000+ subscribers. Florian has exhibited with Make, Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, Joanna Bird and has been involved in numerous live making events.

Media and Appearances
Gadsby has documented his practice on social media since he started his apprenticeship with Lisa Hammond and has amassed one million followers over various platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. "Initially, my Instagram account (@floriangadsby) was a way of documenting my apprenticeship to show my family and friends what I was up to." Through his presence on social media Gadsby has built up a combined audience of over 2.6 million followers.

On January 23rd, 2022, Gadsby appeared as a guest judge on the television program, The Great Pottery Throw Down, which airs on Channel 4 and HBO Max.

His work has appeared in published books, such as Urban Potters: Makers in the City, Clay: Contemporary Ceramic Artists and Elemental Earth , for which Gadsby wrote the preface for. His work has also featured on the Financial Times, The Times , BBC Culture. , The Telegraph, Insider, Buzzfeed and 9GAG.

Awards
In 2019 Gadsby was named in the Evening Standard's 'The Progress 1000: London's most influential people'.