With her unique patterns and colours incorporated into her pieces, Ummu Nabilah takes her love for pottery and turns it into a full-time business.
Story by Ong Xynthea | Photos by Ummu Nabilah
Ummu Nabilah, 26, first discovered the world of clay when she was a ceramics student at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). She grew to love coming up with innovative ways of combining beauty and functionality in her creations. In 2014, she took that step to start Ummuramics.
Channeling Emotions Into Pottery
“I would say that Ummuramics sells functional dinnerware for your everyday use,” Ummu says.
She describes her work as ‘perk me up’ pieces that one can use every day. To achieve this, she uses loud colours and abstract patterns — which are now her signature art traits.
“I don’t want my works to be soft and simple, I want them to be something that you cannot find at other places. I want to make sure when my work is displayed, you will know that it’s Ummu’s work,” Ummu explains.
Ummu has a whimsical sense of design. Most of her works are made based on how she felt when she embraces the nature around her.
“It comes naturally to me from the heart.”
Her versatility shines in her different collections — ranging from more experimental series such as ‘Bloom’ to more toned-down designs from her ‘Normie’ mugs.
Some of her personal favourites, such as the ‘Bloom’ and ‘Seabed’ series, allow her to explore the different variations to spice things up.
Launched during the circuit breaker last year, ‘Bloom’ is a collection where Ummu makes use of melted effects with colours.
As a finishing touch, she adds unique flower patterns to each piece.
‘Seabed’ on the other hand, has been around since her NAFA days. Inspired by sea currents, this series is a playground for Ummu to experiment with different spiral patterns.
Despite doing pottery for many years, Ummu is still constantly improving her current skill set.
“From making big sculptures to just smaller pieces of work, there’s a lot of things I still had to learn technique-wise,” Ummu explains.
For example, she mentioned she had to familiarise herself with the different handles for dinnerware or making the foot rings at the bottom of the mug.
With a plethora of ideas flooding in, she couldn’t wait to put her mind to it.
Starting Out
With the rising popularity of pottery, many people are eager to try it out, with some turning it into a business.
Ummu says, “In the beginning, you have to ask yourself why you are doing it and would you continue if you are not earning any money?”
When it comes to starting a business, Ummu urges those interested to ensure that they are financially and mentally prepared beforehand. It takes a lot of time and effort to become an entrepreneur, and one must be willing to make some sacrifices along the way.
“The one thing you don’t want people to ask you is whether you have money for it. However, I realised over time that it’s a question you must ask yourself first,” Ummu says.
In addition, she also highlighted that hard work is key to ensuring for one’s business to do well.
“People always think that as long as you have the passion, you can turn your passion into a full-time career. However, a lot of hard work and money is required to achieve this,” Ummu says.