Oh Oak: A ceramic expression where depth lies in the surface

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Stine Albertsen

Defined by subtle forms, tactile surfaces and the special glazes that have become her hallmark, the ceramics of Sarah Oakman have found their way to homes and Michelin-starred restaurants all over the world. Yet, working on Bornholm, the ceramicist remains rooted in a careful process, inspired by nature and shaped over more than a decade of testing, refinement and material curiosity.

Ten years after founding Oh Oak in Nexø, Oakman has created a distinct ceramic universe that has added a dash of colour and tactility to a wide range of settings, from private homes to trendy cafés and Michelin-starred restaurants.

Ceramicist Sarah Oakman, the woman behind Oh Oak. Photo: Rasmus Kvist

What ties it all together is a ceramic language rooted in feeling as much as function. “I try to stay true to the core DNA of my work,” Oakman says. “I want to make ceramics that feel good in the hand and awaken something in people. It should tell a story about where it comes from.”

Today, Oakman works with a small production team at Matter – House of Craft, where visitors can encounter both the finished ceramics and the process behind them.

The distinctive crater cup is one of Oh Oak’s most popular designs.

From Copenhagen to Bornholm

Originally trained as a schoolteacher in Copenhagen, Oakman, then 27, quickly sensed that another path was calling. In 2012, she moved to Bornholm with her husband and their children. What was meant to be a temporary move to study glass and ceramics at the island’s design school in Nexø turned into a new life.

Oh Oak: A ceramic expression where depth lies in the surface

At the school, she met her creative partner, glass artist Maj-Britt Zelmer Olsen, with whom she opened a small shared workshop and studio. The family stayed, the children thrived, and soon the island’s raw landscapes began to shape Oakman’s work in a way that came to define her new path. “Nature is very present here, both summer and winter, just in completely different ways,” she says. “And because Bornholm is geologically so different from the rest of Denmark, I use it a great deal in my work – both as a visual source of inspiration and directly, through materials like sand, clay and stones.”

In 2019, Oakman and Olsen took over a 600-square-metre former shipyard hall in the harbour of Nexø, which they turned into Matter – House of Craft, a shared space for production, exhibitions, and craftsmanship.

Photo: Oh Oak

A decade glaze

When looking at Oakman’s designs, one senses a restraint in the form that allows the surfaces to do more without letting the piece lose its Nordic simplicity. “Glaze is my great passion,” she says. “I’ve spent many years immersing myself in glaze development – trying to keep the form simple and let the glazes move and evolve. Sometimes that happens through those reactive craters, and sometimes through much more subtle shifts in colour across the surface.”

One of the most striking examples is the Crater Cup, which has become one of her best-known pieces. Developed in collaboration with the Copenhagen coffee bar Prolog, it was shaped around both ritual and function. The curve had to suit the aroma of the coffee, the small foot had to lift the cup slightly, and the textured exterior was designed to provide both grip and a degree of insulation. The result is a piece with a highly recognisable surface, but also a carefully considered use, which helps explain its lasting appeal among coffee enthusiasts.

Alongside it sits the IWA series, another of the ceramicist’s most popular collections. Inspired by Japanese tea culture and by the traditional tea bowl, the pieces are filtered through her own quieter, more Nordic expression. The series illustrates Oakman’s continuous search for inspiration both within and beyond Denmark. “When you live on a small island like Bornholm, I believe it’s imperative to keep travelling and expanding your horizon,” she stresses.

In search of the perfect pink
Oakman’s love of glaze, she explains, originates from the tension between the highly technical and the more instinctive. “It requires a great deal of knowledge and a certain kind of nerdiness. The idea that you can almost calculate your way towards an aesthetic expression – I find that deeply interesting,” she says. “At the same time, it’s also something extremely creative and intuitive.”

Consequently, some glazes emerge quickly; others take years. Her search for the right pink, for instance, has stretched across more than a decade. “I’m still trying to find the perfect pink,” she says. “I’ve been working on that since 2012, and I still haven’t quite succeeded.” It is a small but telling detail. In Oakman’s work, the point is not simply to produce, but to keep refining – to test, adjust and look again until the right surface reveals itself.

Oh Oak: A ceramic expression where depth lies in the surface