SOPHIE COOK - IN THE STUDIO & AT HOME
Sophie Cook is an acclaimed contemporary ceramicist. She makes porcelain bottle, pod and teardrop vessels which are thrown and glazed in a wide range of colours. Her work is featured in permanent museum collections in galleries including the Geffrye Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and her work has been bought by the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Elton John and Giorgio Armani.
Sophie lives in a Victorian end of terrace house in East Dulwich, South East London with her husband and three sons. She has converted part of the house into a studio space complete with kiln and wheel.
We had the pleasure of visiting and photographing Sophie in her beautiful live/ work space.
WHEN DID YOU BUY THE HOUSE AND WHAT STATE WAS IT IN WHEN YOU BOUGHT IT?
I bought it in 2005. It wasn't very attractive from the outside, strange patterned rendering and odd windows but inside it was much nicer.
WHAT FIRST ATTRACTED YOU TO THE HOUSE?
The property details didn't, I had already dismissed viewing the house a few months earlier but the estate agents suggested I looked at it again when another property fell through. Luckily, it was just bad photos and I immediately fell for the double height in the dining room and the large garden.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR HOUSE?
I love going upstairs for the kids bath and bedtimes, there's a lovely feeling about their bedrooms.
HOW IS IT HAVING YOUR WORKSPACE IN YOUR HOME?
Brilliant. I love being able to be a mum one minute and then being able to retreat into my studio the next.
WHAT'S ON YOUR DOORSTEP? TELL US ABOUT YOUR AREA
The shops are literally around the corner which is great, there's everything you need. It hasn't been the most attractive strip and is definitely now going through the East Dulwich gentrification. With this comes the downside of little gems like the DIY shop and the dry cleaners being lost along the way. The other great thing about the area is having the park (Peckham Rye) literally across the road.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO MOVE TO SUFFOLK, TELL US WHAT YOU'LL MISS ABOUT THIS AREA
I'll miss loads about this area, especially the neighbours who have turned into friends. I'm going to be really remote, so I'll miss not having everything on my doorstep.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM HOUSE?
My new house is pretty close to that. It's been renovated beautifully from an old cow barn and dairy. It has the sea on one side of it and marshland with river views to the other.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
My glass bottles by Michael Anchin from New York. We both fell in love with each others work and swapped lots of pieces.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE?
I'm very happy just going to Northcross Road market in East Dulwich on a Saturday and buying lots of food bits from the stalls.
IF YOU HAD A FREE DAY IN LONDON HOW WOULD YOU SPEND IT?
If money and weather were no object, I'd get a boat from Greenwich and motor up to Hampton Court and finally visit the maze which I've wanted to visit since I was a child, followed by dinner in the River Cafe.
