Have you ever admired a beautiful vase and pondered trying your own hand at pottery? Maybe you miss the days of art class in school or you just crave the opportunity to get your hands a little dirty.

Created by Aucklander Krissy Derrick and her mother Amanda Warren, Modeletto’s at-home, air-dry pottery kits allow you to enjoy the benefits of tactile art therapy from your own place – and if you make that vase, there’s no kiln required.

Derrick homed in on the idea of pottery kits during lockdown in 2021, wanting to start a business that helped with people’s mental health – both in lockdown and out of it. She ordered some clay to give it a go herself, thinking about how therapeutic pottery can be and how courses can often be expensive and booked up.

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“At first, I was a little bit like, ‘How do I do this?!’” Derrick tells Broadsheet. “And then I just went, ‘I’ll let myself play, I don’t need to make something amazing.’” When she prioritised letting go and focusing on fun over perfection, Derrick knew that, along with some sticky, earthy mess, she had a winner on her hands.

There’s a range of kits for different uses, priced from $59 to $89. The original air-dry pottery kit contains enough clay to make two different types of small vases, or a small vase and a mug (noting that if you do make a mug to drink out of, it must be fired in a professional kiln). There are also sculpting tools, a sponge and paintbrush, and non-toxic white paint and sealant – all in eco-friendly packaging.

While each set comes with thoughtful instructions, it encourages you to make use of the clay in whatever way you like: if you want to make a clay cowboy boot, then go for it.

There’s also a junior kit, which includes bright, primary-coloured paint; a candle holder and candle-making kit with soy wax flakes, French pear oil and a wick; and the “fem play” kit, primarily designed for hens parties. Derrick also makes mugs, bowls and vases that are sold on the Modeletto website and in select stores around New Zealand.

You’ll soon be able to buy a meditation and manifestation kit, designed for you to make your own incense or palo santo holders while listening to a guided meditation made especially by Sarah Lindsay of Sala studio.

“I really just wanted to encourage people to add more play into their day and get off their phone,” says Derrick. “I am a sucker for mindlessly scrolling, but when you’ve got clay on your hands you can’t do that.”

Sustainability is important to the brand, which Derrick says is “sort of a family business, in a way”. Her mother works with suppliers (the clay comes from a potter in Nelson) and makes all the kits by hand, and her brother creates the eco-friendly packaging with his sign-writing business.

Modeletto wants you to remember that what’s important is your journey with the kits. “I love everything that everyone makes! It’s always different. We give everyone instructions, but everyone does what they want,” says Derrick. “My favourite thing is always going to be the massive mugs that I make, that I then drink my matcha out of every morning. That’s always going to be the coolest thing, that I made this for myself.”

modelettostore.com