Small Business Saturday, Meet the Maker

It’s Small business Saturday today so, I thought it’d be the perfect time to introduce myself in case we haven't had the pleasure to meet in person. 

My name is Catherine Rex and I am the owner, creator, and all around one woman show that is Rex Design.

Photo by Sophie Ungless

I fell in love with art at the very beginning. My mother is a painter and some of my first memories are painting the bottom of her large canvases as she worked on the top.

Since then I have focused on functional arts like ceramics (although I still love to paint!!) I love functional art because it incorporates art into one's day to day activities. I put so much love and care into each of my pieces and I want them to be used and enjoyed with the same enthusiasm.

When I started Rex Design my partner and I were living on a sailboat. I have always taken inspiration from my life and for 10 years our tiny sailboat was the perfect home. One of my favorite pieces inspired by this period on the ocean is my swimming women serving bowl. She represents all the freedom I felt everytime we took our sailboat out to sea.

About a year ago we took on a new adventure of restoring an abandoned 100 year old craftsman home. While the 1920s bathrooms were a dream the non-functioning knob and tube electricity was a nightmare. So after modernizing the electric we embarked on restoring the neglected kitchen. After days of scraping and sanding we found the original wood floors under layers of mastic and linoleum. Once repaired I painted our kitchen a sage inspired by the green trim on the outside. This vintage green is what inspired my new “My green kitchen” line. My favorite piece from this collection is the berry bowl. I use it for everything from my morning berries to draining chickpeas in the evening. It’s the perfect all purpose colander for one.

When there is a moment left I spend it at dance. From 2 - 22 my home away from home was a tutu. Any movement that comes naturally when the music is a flowing is where I feel at peace. Outside an exploration into femininity, movement is what you’ll encounter most consistently in my art. You will see dancers flying across many of my pieces. Most of these dancers are personal friends of mine who let me draw them at my studio or shared performance for me to recapture into clay.