Meet the Maker | Chardean Chum
Chardean Chum merges her fashion design background with expert craftsmanship to create handmade ceramic lighting that speaks to a range of personalities. Operating from Sydney, her collection thoughtfully balances colour, form, and texture to sculpt light and shadow, delivering pieces designed for lasting impact.
Read the full interview below to discover more about Chardean’s creative journey and design philosophy.
What originally drew you to ceramics, and how did your journey as a maker begin?
I was living in Brooklyn, designing and producing my own women’s fashion line. To begin it was fun— the sketching of designs and the buzz of the garment district in mid-town Manhattan where I sourced fabrics, worked with my sample maker and production house and the thrill of seeing a collection come to life.
It was an exciting yet all-consuming business that demanded constant creativity, while the work of selling and marketing to stores proved equally challenging. I wondered if there might be a different way to create something that felt more sustainable.
I found ceramics as I was winding down my fashion business. I was drawn to clay for its immediacy as a material, with its ability to be shaped and sculpted and moulded into practically any shape or form. It felt like a comfortable transition from fashion.
Clay felt like therapy—it teaches you patience, to slow down and appreciate the process. It teaches you to accept accidents and failures—ceramicists know that nothing is guaranteed until it comes out of the final kiln firing.
You spent over two decades in New York, how has that experience shaped your creative approach?
Two years ago, my husband and I returned to Sydney with our two grown children. What was meant to be just a few years in Brooklyn had, somehow, unfolded into twenty-five.
New York can be a full assault on the senses that overwhelms and inspires simultaneously, and I loved it! The vibrancy of the street life, access to incredible art, culture and theatre really activates all senses.
I also had many friends who worked in creative fields—writing, fashion design, industrial design, photography. And because it’s such a dynamic, creative and densely populated city, I think the proximity of your fellow city dwellers makes for an osmosis of creativity.
The simple act of riding the subway can be one of the best sources of entertainment and inspiration. The exposure to these influences and experiences helped percolate creative ideas.
Can you tell us more about working from the Greenwich House Pottery? What did being part of such a diverse ceramics community teach you?
Greenwich House Pottery (GHP) in the West Village is a very special space and community. Having opened in 1909, it’s one of the oldest continuously operating ceramic studios in the US. Many great artists have passed through its doors over the years as students and as teachers, including Peter Voulkos and Richard Serra.
GHP is where I first delved into clay, immersing myself in wheel throwing, hand building and slip casting. The great thing about clay is there is so much to learn, and you’re constantly learning. There is such a breadth of knowledge that’s imparted by the teachers at GHP.
It’s also a diverse mix of members, whose ages range from early 20s to late 90s, and with experience working in clay ranging from 0-60+ years. All have their unique work, and the community is very generous in sharing their process and techniques—we all learned from each other.
Fun facts: Bob Dylan’s iconic Freewheelin’ album cover was shot in front of GHP and, until his passing last year, Frank Stella lived and worked directly across the road from GHP.
“With fashion, you’re dressing a person, and with lighting, you’re dressing a room.”
- CHARDEAN CHUM
You’ve worked in fashion and marketing before arriving at ceramics. How do those experiences influence your design journey today?
There’s a lot of overlap with ceramics and fashion. For me, working with patterns is a process that carries over. It’s a way to fine-tune a design and, once finalised, the pattern enables work to be consistent and replicated. Although I explored wheel throwing and slip casting, I preferred the freedom of hand building and knew I wanted to develop a collection of hand built ceramic lighting.
And, like fashion, I paid attention to a balance of silhouette, shape, texture and colour, while maintaining restraint to keep it interesting yet familiar. As with fashion, my ceramic lights make up a collection that offer a range of designs to accommodate different personalities and styles.
My marketing background helps with the many hats I wear as a small business. As with marketing, I do my research and get to know the industry, the people, and the interior designers creating interesting projects, many of whom I would love to work with.
How would you describe the role of light and shadow in your pieces?
My collection is wall and ceiling mounted lighting, with the ceramic piece elevated off the surface just enough so that the illuminated, frosted glass globe in front of it creates a shadow, or halo, of the design. The positioning of the illuminated glass in front and centre allows it to do its task of lighting a room whilst also highlighting the ceramic design.
Lights have a colour temperature from cool to warm, and I make sure my lights are supplied with warm coloured LED bulbs (2700K). It gives a room a nice glow and makes everyone look more flattering.
What exciting plans or aspirations do you have for the future as a newly established brand?
Overall, my plan is to grow my business in Australia and abroad. I’m also exploring ceramic pendant lights and outdoor lights. Ceramic is so strong and durable, it’s a good natural material for outdoor use, and the right design can really transform and elevate the exterior of a home or building.