Reiko Kaneko is ceramicist, designer and educator based in London. She works at various scales in a range of typologies, designing both products for manufacture and bespoke pieces for commissioned projects. The focus of her working practice is on mastery of material and form. After graduating from Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, she founded a creative studio in London in 2007. Initially building up a client base for her small batch production ceramic designs, she began to take on bespoke commissions from 2009 onwards, creating tableware, glassware and tea ware for prestigious restaurants and galleries. In 2012, with expansion of both knowledge and business scale in mind, she took the step to move to Stoke-on-Trent, the traditional home of industrial scale pottery manufacturing in Britain. The possibility of controlling all aspects of her studios output, from how everything was made to finessing all parts of the supply chain had great appeal. Reiko immersed herself in the fabric of what industry remained in the city; able to experiment and work in an environment rich with knowledge and understanding. In 2017 she returned to London to build a garden studio and to work within the creative energy of the city again. She has continued to run the Stoke-on-Trent studio at a smaller scale and in 2018 began teaching part-time on the MA Ceramics course at Staffordshire University. Reiko is a passionate advocate of both creativity in education and industry. Her personal focus has been on developing the skills needed to be a thoughtful and productive creative practitioner. Her approach is open, her knowledge is just beginning and like many of her generation, she feels it is time to affect change. 

Visiting MA Ceramics Tutor at Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent
Collections can be viewed in Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent

Design for Manufacture

SCP since 2013 - terracotta, Orlando, lighting.

Vista Alegre - Collection of Bowls

Special Projects Commission as a potter designer

Anne Sophie Pic 2023 - Botanical Presentation plate for Le Dame de Pic at Four Seasons London and more recently Dahlia plates and Meringue bowls for Cristal Room, Hong Kong

The Fat Duck since 2009 - Tableware. Mad hatter platter, bone plate, loop plate, woodland centrepiece, butter dish, botrytis plate, cloud plate and more,

Dinner by Heston since 2021 - Bulls Head scent diffuser, Custom Garden presentation plates for Hyde Park Garden

69 Colebrook Row & Untitled Bar 2009 - Oyster, Vagina Cocktail Vessel

Paradise Restaurant / Dan Preston 2019 - Tropical Brutalism inspired bespoke Tiles.

Connaught Hotel / Remy Martin 2019 - Cocktail glass

NEFF 2018 - Flavour Enhancing tableware according to Prof. Charles Spence's research

Takagi Kaperan 2019 - Ceramics for Hotel Interiors

Audemus Spirits 2016 onwards - Limited Edition Gin bottles

Exhibitions

Useful/ Beautiful; Why Craft matters at Harewood House 2019

Kintsugi Exhibition at Sway Gallery 2019

Botanicals Showcase at Pimlico Road, SCP 2019

Sunspel, Tokyo Japan 2016

Simplified Beauty, SCP London Design Festival 2012