We are Karo and Auguste

karo&auguste is a small ceramic brand consisting of me (Karo) and my little lady dog Auguste. Working together as the perfect team we make unique, handmade ceramics for your home.

For our pieces we take inspiration from the world that surrounds us: all the colours of the sea, beautiful sandy beaches, wild mountain rivers and the small fishing villages of the Italian coast, so colourful with their pink, mint and yellow facades. 

I work with the hand building technique, so without a potter's wheel. With my hands alone and only a few tools, I make decorative pieces and ceramics for the daily use.

Since childhood Italy has been one of my favourite destinations and now, through the twist of fate, it has also become our second home. Original Berliners (well, I was born here, Auguste only made her way through immigration in 2015;) ), in 2021 we moved south, out of the big city, into the land of pizza, pasta and gelato (I could list so much more here but that would go beyond the scope), and now we commute back and forth between Germany and Italy.

The hand building technique fascinated me from the very start; this process is very close to the traditional production of ceramic pieces from the beginning of times. The fact that people made their pots in this form more than 20,000 years ago impresses me quite a bit (of course I'm using an electric kiln now and the materials have changed a lot over the centuries too ;) ). For me, the small imperfections are the most beautiful thing about handmade pottery. The most exciting aspect of this process is the freedom that gives you in creating new shapes, mixing different hand building techniques combining them with the usual round shape.

In addition to my work as a ceramist I'm also a writer. My debut novel "Warten auf Schnee", which was published in German at the end of 2018 by the Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, is available to order in bookstores across Germany (for example here). At the moment I am also working on my second novel, whenever I find the time for it.

Auguste, as I said before, joined me from Sardinia in 2015. I found her in an animal shelter and brought her to Berlin. Definitely one, if not the best decision of my life because this little muppet is not just my business partner but she also makes my life fuller, funnier and generally just better. Also Auguste makes sure that I take enough breaks from ceramic making and I do some exercise when we walk together in the park, by the river, through fields or by the sea (even if she is terribly afraid of the tiniest waves).