Mihiri de Silva at her studio wheel: paisley headscarf, white apron over a black tee, smiling as she sponges the rim of a freshly thrown plate. — The potter · in the studio

Origin · in brief

Textile Technologist. Traveller. Foodie. Dog person.

Three decades in apparel. When I left the rag trade I wasn’t done. Just ready for something different.

Redcocoon began as Sri Lanka’s first sustainable clothing line: Re-Engineered-Design, R.E.D.

Cocoon for the transformation it represented. The name outlasted that chapter and arrived here, in a pottery studio. Small, patient, mine.

Since: 2019
Location: Mirihana

Making · four parts

How a piece is made.

Clay, wheel, glaze, kiln. The four parts of every pot, in order.

01Clay

1/4

Body: Stoneware
Source: Local
Preparation: Wedged by hand
Rest: Overnight, minimum

Clay

Stoneware sourced locally, stored carefully and kept moist against the heat.

Every morning it is wedged before the wheel starts.

Wedging is the first honesty.

Body: Stoneware
Source: Local
Preparation: Wedged by hand
Rest: Overnight, minimum

“If there is a single air pocket in the clay, the piece will find it in the kiln.”

Wheel: Shimpo
Plate: 7 min
Need: Music
Best time: Mornings

Wheel

One wheel, one pair of hands, one vessel at a time.

Time at the wheel is unhurried. Every piece is followed through drying and trimming before it meets the kiln. Nothing thrown and walked away from.

Bowls made in the same session will carry the same spirit. Measuring them will always find a difference. That difference is handmade.

Wheel: Shimpo
Plate: 7 min
Need: Music
Best time: Mornings

“Throwing lines are kept. They are the evidence of the hand.”

Bisque: 990 °C
Method: Dip · Pour · Spray
Palette: 20
Final fire: Cone 6

Glaze

From soft pastels to deep, rich darks. The studio holds a wide range and plenty in between.

Every bisqued piece is checked for cracks and the base waxed before glazing begins.

We dip, pour, and spray. The studio runs around twenty glazes, soft and saturated, side by side.

Bisque: 990 °C
Method: Dip · Pour · Spray
Palette: 20
Final fire: Cone 6

“A little unevenness is welcome. It is how you know a hand was involved.”

Firing: Gas · Cone 6
Peak: 1,200 °C
Schedule: 3 days
Cadence: Every 3 weeks

Kiln

Where the magic happens.

Firing is the part we cannot rush and will not hand off. Gas reduction to Cone 6, around 1,280°C, over three days.

We fire roughly every three weeks. The kiln holds around 200 pieces packed tight, or 100 if the work is larger. Every firing has a logbook entry: the cone, the reduction schedule, the result.

Firing: Gas · Cone 6
Peak: 1,200 °C
Schedule: 3 days
Cadence: Every 3 weeks

“The atmosphere pulls colour from the iron and ash in ways an electric oxidation fire simply cannot.”

A short timeline

2020
Laid the foundation for the studio and construction began.
2021
Opening of the studio.
2022
First international hospitality commission, United Kingdom.
2023
First boutique hotel commission.
2025
First Exhibition.

See the work

The guide is the long answer. The pots are the short one.

Browse the current collections, or talk to us on WhatsApp about a commission for your hotel, café, or table at home.

Browse collections For hospitality

Textile Technologist. Traveller. Foodie. Dog person.

Three decades in apparel. When I left the rag trade I wasn’t done. Just ready for something different.

Redcocoon began as Sri Lanka’s first sustainable clothing line: Re-Engineered-Design, R.E.D.

Cocoon for the transformation it represented. The name outlasted that chapter and arrived here, in a pottery studio. Small, patient, mine.

Since

2019

Location

Mirihana