Paulius Vitkauskas

Native Universal Ceramics

Ceramicist | Vilnius, Lithuania

Home is where your cup is

Paulius's path to pottery began with plasticine
His career has focused on making unique cups
It is important to him for his ceramics to give people joy

Paulius Vitkauskas has been creating ceramics for more than ten years. In his childhood he picked up plasticine, but has now moved to creating interior design pieces out of clay, mainly cups. With his wife Evelina, they created the Native Universal Ceramics studio, where he creates hand moulded minimalist Nordic design cups, perfect for contemporary interiors. "However different we may be, we all usually start our day with a hot cup of coffee or a refreshing mug of water. Home is where your cup is," says Paulius. "It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, what you like – you’ll find a cup suitable for you in my ceramics studio." He prefers cups that have the most intricate handles, since they present a big challenge.

Interview

©Evelina Vitkauskiene

What do you love about your profession?: I like the creation process the most. It brings me joy when my piece turns out the way I wanted it to. The entire moulding process is like meditation to me. It's even more important that my creations bring joy to others. It is wonderful to see the way their faces light up when they find their favourite piece.
What do you try to achieve with your cups?: There are three criteria: functionality, comfort of the handle, and uniqueness. I like a surprising effect, for example I find it important to make the handle seem as little like a handle as possible, which makes the owner create their own associations and gives the cup a very personal feel.
What inspires you?: My inspirations include my muse – my wife Evelina – the city, sci-fi books, movies, music. A big part of inspiration comes from my surroundings, my travels or from discussions about life. The cups I’ve already finished also push me to create something even more crazy.
What drives your work forward?: Sometimes I’m surprised by a piece turning out well, even though it was technically wrong. These accidental moments make me want to explore ceramics even more. Also, it's nice that our brand, Native Universal Ceramics, has fans in every continent who value my cups as works of art.

Paulius Vitkauskas is an expert artisan: he began his career in 2004