Last year, we released “Diversity” font as part of the Diversity Type Project. This involved working with a globally diverse group of incredible lettering artists who created one letter each, to produce the world’s most diverse typeface.
The aim of this project was to celebrate diversity and engage the creative industries in the diversity conversation.
Recently, we discovered Ashley Starace on Instagram when she tagged us in her collection. Ashley is a Maryland, USA-based ceramics artist, she used our Diversity Type font on her recent mug collection. Each mug has a different message that commemorates women, which we think is awesome! We spoke to Ashley to find out more about her collection…
What was your inspiration behind the collection?
This collection of mugs was inspired by recently discovering the #diversitytype project and the celebration of Women’s History Month. To honour the closing of this month, I have made ten mugs decorated with the diversity font displaying a bold statement commemorating women.
15% of the profits from the mugs will go to the UN Women organization, which is now focussing its efforts on providing aid to women in Ukraine who are seeking refuge and are experiencing “ever-growing protection risks, including gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse.”
What sparked your interest in pottery?
Pottery sparked my interest 20 years ago in middle school and high school, but I only recently returned to it in college. I received my BA in Ceramics and a minor in Classical Studies last spring. Among many things, I learned that a ceramic artefact has many stories to tell. A professor asked, “if your pottery were to be discovered in the future, what do you want it to say?” and I aim to answer this every time I create.
What do you want your work to portray?
As I decipher my own purpose and personal growth in this field, I find at the foundation the multicultural and universal language of ceramics. My goal is to acknowledge and celebrate my culture, other BIPOC artists, and especially women, who, even in the ceramic art world are under or misrepresented. So, if I’m to intentionally say something with my art it will be to uplift the underserved in our society.
distillery has just purchased one of Ashley’s mugs, if you want to buy one too you can visit Ashley’s Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/aStaraceCeramics
We’re so proud to have so many people using our Diversity Type font and promoting the message behind it. We love to see it being used creatively as Ashley has done in this collection.
If you want to see the process of how the mugs were created, check out Ashley’s Instagram: @ashleystarace_ceramics
You can learn more about the project here: www.diversitytype.com