Classical busts with two sets of eyes. Martini cups shaped like anthurium flowers. Penis vases. Double-headed ceramic panthers and snakes. Drinking vessels decorated with fingers. Or squirrels. Or prawns.
The output of Gold Coast ceramics label Degoey Planet is compellingly weird. And founder Alex Degoey likes it that way.
“I think that’s the luxury of being an independent brand,” she tells Broadsheet. “I don’t have to make too much sense about what I’m doing. Following whatever I’m obsessed with at the moment, taking inspiration from all around – that’s pretty cool.”
Degoey launched her label in 2019 after a stint in fashion and textiles. From the start, she’s been attracted to the process as much as the final product.
“I’m essentially self-taught. I was dating a guy who was into pottery – he was actually making bongs at the time. And I guess I just picked up on what he was doing through helping out and hanging out.
“Then I went on to make some things for myself and I realised it was such a grounding experience. And so I started pursuing that.”
Working out of her home studio in the suburb of Bilinga (just near Coolangatta Airport), Degoey says each piece starts with “conceptualising an idea” via images and sketching. From there it gets properly three-dimensional with stone and earthenware clay. “Working out the physical side of it – figuring out how to turn it into a functional piece through clay – that can take a lot of trial and error.”
Most production pieces are made to order to reduce waste – slip cast from original moulds and made unique through hand-built additions, patterning and glazing. Hand-building can be “really therapeutic”, Degoey says, when working on one-off pieces. Or prototyping new designs for the brand. (Right now she’s working on “more functional pieces”, including lamps, that will launch later in the year.)
As for her style, Degoey hasn’t quite perfected a tidy soundbite to describe it. “It’s very art deco,” she says. “Kind of nostalgic for older-style ceramics from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. But then also with a quirky twist, like a reimagined version of the classics.”
While Degoey Planet is currently a one-woman show, its founder is a keen collaborator and over time has teamed up on projects with local artists and brands. She’s created vessels painted with slogans and graphics with artist Rhys John Kaye, turned her signature phallic Nine Inch Vases into 10 Inch Candles with You, Me & Bones and – in a throwback to her fashion days – crafted crustacean-themed socks with Prawn Cocktail.
“It’s always really exciting to work with friends and get input, and see how two different styles come together,” Degoey says. “I think that’s the most exciting part for me. How two different minds can make something that’s so far from what I would have seen it becoming in the first place.”
Degoey Planet wares are available online and at select stockists.
