Conversations with Candy Valentine of Edition Cf

Today we’d like to introduce you to Candy Valentine.

Hi Candy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hii! Yes! I grew up in Australia, and my first experience with ceramics was as a child – maybe at six or eight. I connected with clay immediately, but at the time I had no idea ceramics could be a real path, so it didn’t go much further than a year of after-school classes. It became a memory that just quietly haunted the back of my mind.
Years later, I moved to Tokyo, and that’s where things began to shift. I saw a reverence for ceramics that I hadn’t been exposed to before, and I started getting curious.
After that was a chapter in New York, where I studied interior design at Parsons, then joined a small team serving major clients. I needed something to clear my mind outside of work, and learning the wheel felt like a meditative thing to try. I often look to my younger self’s interests for direction, and ceramics came back into my life very naturally.
I got hooked fast and within six months, left for London to do a Masters with a focus on ceramics. Then moved to Los Angeles – a city I’d dreamed of living in for a long time. I was so lucky to be hired right away by my dream studio – one devoted to handmade fine-dining tableware. It felt like everything was falling in to place. About a year later, I opened my own studio and gallery.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A lot of my biggest hurdles have been personal. This year, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on why I make ceramics and learning to truly see the value in my work. I often feel overwhelmed by how much I have to do in a day, but I also genuinely love the long hours in the studio and realized early on that nothing in the ceramics life can be forced or rushed. Running a business is humbling – it constantly reveals your strongest instincts and the places that still need tending, and part of the work is learning how to nurture both so the whole thing can keep evolving.
This year I intentionally stepped back from social media because it felt like a big distraction, and progressively less fun to engage with. Your attention is your greatest asset and I’d like to spend more of mine soaking in real life than to be producing out of desire for an audience.
I’m happier doing things that feel expansive. Collaborating with an incredible female-led design studio in Mexico City [Evoli] on a new website has been a joy which I’m really excited to launch early next year. I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting and making discoveries in the studio, and seeking out places, music, and influences that inspire and bring me back in to communion with the natural world. I think it’s helpful to remember that everything you do is leading you somewhere.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I mostly work with clay, but I’m also drawn to other elemental materials like wood and stone. Next year, I’d love to give more attention to furniture design as an extension of the world my ceramics exist in. For years I’ve been obsessed with the idea of “modern ghosts” – objects that feel both of this time and of no time at all – and translating ancient forms into a present language. I’m proud to be part of a lineage of ceramic artisans that runs back over 20 thousand years. My work is recognised by its angular silhouettes and raw clay surfaces, though I’m slowly embracing more unexpected glaze elements..

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Just reach out! It’s so satisfying to bring a vision to life with my hands. I love meeting and working with other artists and always open to aligned partnerships of all kinds.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.editioncf.com
• Instagram: @edition.cf

Image Credits
Joan Scott
Elina Manvel
Mia Sadek