EM Elin Mazurek — Resume

Profile

Colour that survives the kiln

Twelve years moving finishes from bench samples to repeatable production, mostly in tableware, enamelware and cast homeware. I work in the gap where design intent meets furnace reality: reformulating a glaze so it tolerates a second kiln site, rewriting a spec so a supplier reads it the same way the studio does, sitting through line trials until the tone is stable.

My habit is to design the system rather than the single object — a palette with documented recipes, tolerances and failure modes, so a range can be extended two years later without re-solving the same problems. I write the documentation myself and I like being on the factory floor when it is tested.

Selected work

Three projects that describe the method

2023 — 2025 Colour system lead

Tideline stoneware service Halvard & Sons Ceramics — 34-piece dinnerware range

Developed a six-glaze palette for a reduction-fired stoneware body, then proved each recipe across two kiln sites with different atmospheres. Built a tolerance table that told the factory which tonal drift was acceptable and which was a reject, so colour decisions stopped escalating to the studio.

Outcome The range ships from either site without a separate colour standard, and three of the glazes were later reused on a serveware extension with no reformulation.
2022 Finish redesign

Repair-first vitreous enamel Norrbo Homeware — cookware finish revision

Reworked an enamel finish and its firing schedule so chipped or mis-coated pieces could be stripped and re-fired in-house instead of being scrapped. Required loosening the colour spec slightly and proving the second firing did not shift tone beyond the agreed tolerance.

Outcome Rework became a normal step in the line rather than an exception, and the finish now has a documented two-fire limit that quality control can apply without asking design.
2019 — 2021 Systems & documentation

Shared pigment library and naming grammar Norrbo Homeware — internal reference system

Built a physical reference library of fired tiles paired with a written naming grammar, so a colour could be requested unambiguously across design, sampling and purchasing. Replaced an ad-hoc set of studio nicknames with names that encode body, finish and firing range.

Outcome Sampling rounds now start from a fired physical reference rather than a screen image, which removed most of the early-stage back-and-forth with suppliers.

Experience

Roles

2021 — Present Copenhagen

Senior Materials Designer Halvard & Sons Ceramics

  • Own glaze and finish development for the tableware portfolio, from first bench tests to signed production standards.
  • Run line trials with the two partner kilns and write the colour QA criteria used at inspection.
  • Mentor two junior developers and review their recipe documentation before handover.
2017 — 2021 Malmö

Colour & Finish Designer Norrbo Homeware

  • Specified finishes for cookware and cast homeware, working directly with enamel and coating suppliers.
  • Introduced the pigment reference library and the naming grammar now used across the design team.
  • Led the repair-first enamel revision with the production engineering group.
2014 — 2017 Aarhus

Glaze Developer Kilnhouse Atelier — promoted from Studio Technician

  • Formulated small-batch glazes for commissioned architectural tile and maintained the recipe database.
  • Mapped kiln temperature variation and rebuilt the firing schedules around it.
2012 — 2014 Aarhus

Workshop Assistant Independent ceramics studios — part-time alongside study

  • Slip casting, mould making, kiln loading and glaze mixing to studio recipes.

Capabilities

What I bring to a team

Materials & finishes

  • Stoneware and porcelain glaze formulation
  • Vitreous enamel and powder coating specification
  • Oxide and body staining
  • Matte, satin and reactive surface tuning
  • Slip casting and press-moulded bodies

Process & production

  • Bench test to production line trials
  • Kiln mapping and firing schedule design
  • Colour tolerance setting and inspection criteria
  • Supplier briefing and technical handover
  • Rework and end-of-life considerations

Tools & documentation

  • Recipe and batch databases
  • Spectral colour measurement workflows
  • Production standards and spec writing
  • Rhino 3D and Illustrator for finish drawings
  • Physical reference libraries

Education & training

Background

2014

MA Material Futures Nordholm School of Art & Design — thesis on reactive glazes in serial production

2011

BA (Hons) Three-Dimensional Design Fenwick College of Art — ceramics and glass pathway

2019

Kiln Atmosphere & Safety, certificate Guild of Ceramic Industry — short professional course

Contact

Happy to talk about a range, a finish or a problem glaze

Email is the fastest way to reach me. I can share fired samples and full recipe documentation for any of the projects above on request.

elin@mazurek-materials.studio This page prints cleanly as a one-sheet resume