The Art Of Creative Brand Storytelling With Potter Jacques Monneraud
All images courtesy of Jacques Monneraud
This story begins with a simple Malteser chocolate.
Jacques placed the little brown ball on a pottery wheel and slowly shaped it into a tiny vase. I smiled watching the Instagram film, then laughed out loud when he ate the ‘vase’.
That playful video has since had over 1.5 million views.
Frenchman Jacques Monneraud shares and sells his pottery with brilliantly crafted storytelling full of delight and wonder.
"The world of ideas is a bit like the one of dreams," Jacques muses. "I constantly ask myself…'What would make me fall in love with ceramics although I don't care about it?'"
With a background in advertising, Jacques understands the power of brand storytelling. In this Q&A, he generously shares his creative process, his humility and humour belying the thought, talent, and effort involved.
I'm thrilled to share this conversation with you.
Q: Before studying ceramics, you worked for 12 years in the advertising industry. Can you tell us the story of how and why you left that all behind to become a ceramist? And what drew you to working with clay?
I started as a graphic designer/illustrator and quickly became a Creative Director in an advertising company. During those years, I gradually drifted away from what I loved to do in the first place, which was creating. As someone who grew up in a family of artists and makers, I always pictured myself working with my hands someday. But here I was, spending hours in meetings discussing brand strategies. When I realised that, I decided that it was time to give this dream a try. After a few months searching for this "maker job", I stumbled upon a video of someone working at the potter's wheel. It randomly appeared on my feed and totally caught me off guard. I was instantly hooked. I loved everything about it, the material, the fact that it's just you and a lump of mud, the variety of things you can make out of it... I booked a class the same day and quit my job a few weeks later.
Q: Your creativity comes across in everything you do, from the innovative designs of your ceramics to the playful way you present them, with product descriptions full of character and the stories you tell in the films you share on Instagram. Where do your ideas come from, and how do you approach the development and innovation required to bring those ideas to life?
That's a tricky question. The world of ideas is a bit like the one of dreams. Of course there are ways to find a creative idea. You can approach a subject from different angles in order to make it look funny, original, crazy etc, depending on the message you want to convey. But it would be very hard to dissect and analyse all the brain connections that play a role in the birth of an idea.
I constantly ask myself the following questions: What would I love to see/watch/touch/read? What would be so cool that I'd want to share it? What would make me smile? What would make me fall in love with ceramics although I don't care about it? Because at the end of the day, it all boils down to you and someone else's interest.
As for bringing those ideas to life, it depends... Some projects are easy to make and others very hard. But whichever it is, I always start with the same state of mind, the one of MacGyver (I loved that show when I was a kid). You have to pick a lock with just a chewing-gum? Okay. Let's find a way.
Q: The cardboard series is incredible. I remember the first time I saw the pieces, I couldn‘t believe they were made of clay. The attention to detail of the glaze that looks like tape is so clever and skilful. Can you share the story of the process of that collection? It’s such an original idea, and it must have been so hard to get right. Were there moments when you questioned if it would work?
Thank you :) I must say that research is part of my daily routine, in parallel to my more classic tableware pieces. I'm always exploring ideas. I like to open doors, even though they end up nowhere. I have dozens of unfinished projects and ideas. As for the cardboard, it's failure that pushed me towards this collection. I was unsuccessfully trying to obtain a specific glaze effect that I love, so I started thinking about a ‘raw collection’, made of unglazed pieces. From that moment on, I started to explore different clays and combinations of clays mixed together, with no particular idea in mind other than finding a nice balance between colour and texture.
One day, I obtained a mix that made me think of a cardboard chunk. I thought about pushing it further and because I have always been very sensitive to things that time deteriorates, things that don't last, I instantly loved the paradoxical nature of this project: unalterable cardboard. I really liked the idea of being able to freeze fragility.
From that moment on, I did dozens of tests, be it about the colour, the texture, the optical illusion, the fragility, etc. Until one day, a ceramist friend of mine drops by and, staring at a ceramic prototype, says "oh you're working with cardboard now?". It was a small coffee cup and she was just centimetres away from it. I thought to myself ‘time has come to make a real collection out of this’.
Q: For someone relatively new to their craft, you seem unafraid of setting yourself challenges. Creating the Roland Garros trophy using the clay of the Philippe-Chatrier centre court is a brilliantly ambitious idea. Can you tell us more about the King of Clay project and the film you made, which has had two million views on Instagram?
This illustrates what I was trying to say earlier about creativity and its mysterious ways... One day you buy some Mentos, and a few days later you buy a can of Coke. You fall asleep and when you wake up, your brain suggests that you put the Mentos in the can of Coke. You've made no effort to think about it, yet the idea is here. I've always loved tennis and I watched every game of Rafael Nadal. That's the Mentos. A few years later, I was researching ceramics and read this surprising story: tennis clay was invented by two players who decided to crush vases from Vallauris. And that's the Coke can...
It quickly became clear that, for the idea to be pure, the clay had to come from the real Parisian court. This was my first challenge. With no connections whatsoever to the Tennis world, I thought that I could better my chances with a prototype, so that's the first thing I made.
Once I had it, I knew that the time of the people I was trying to reach was precious, and that I'd need a strong, clear presentation. With the help of a talented friend, I created a mobile website to explain the project. By doing so I ensured that the idea wouldn't be distorted along the way.
From this point on, I followed the "six handshakes rule" (the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other), and started making phone calls. It actually took me a lot more than six friends but I eventually found a way to reach Roland-Garros' staff. They loved the idea and sent me several kilos of the real clay.
Then the biggest challenge started... because until then I had completely underestimated the complexity of the trophy. In the video, I say that I really came close to giving up. It's sincere. The only thing that kept me going is the "I've gone too far to give up now" feeling. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about :).
Replica of the Roland-Garros trophy using the clay of the Philippe-Chatrier center court. It took Jacques one year and five months to complete. Within the first 24 hours the full film (which you can watch on his Instagram) was viewed half a million times.
Q: Ceramics have such a high risk of failure - from the modelling to the firing to the drying process - so much can go wrong. It must take a lot of bravery to undertake some of your projects. How do you cope with the failures, mistakes and setbacks?
Not well! When I first started working in advertising, my teammate and I created an ad where you see Jesus walking toward water and, although you expect him to walk on it, he eventually drowns. The copy was saying this: ‘There is no miracle. Just a lot of work.’ To this day, I still think it's very true.
People tend to believe that working with clay is relaxing and that quitting your job to become a ceramist will allow you to have more time to yourself... It's the complete opposite. In fact, I dare you to find a job this hard, where you need to turn mud into gold every day and be both Steves at the same time (Wozniak and Jobs).
How do I cope with failures and setbacks? I listen to Kendrick Lamar, read the Harvard Business Review and watch Little House on the Prairie. It goes something like this: Stay humble, work hard and be nice.
Q: You are a talented storyteller. There’s a playful quality to everything you share, and you often talk about a ‘touch of foolishness’ - can you tell us more about why you take that approach? Does it help creativity to have fun and not take it too seriously?
First of all, I think that unless you're a doctor in South Sudan fighting hunger and poverty (my younger brother does that), nothing is serious.
Then, I choose to base my business on social media platforms. Not because I like them, but because in my opinion, it would be a big mistake to close a door to the whole world when you aim to sell things.
Today, these platforms are all about entertainment! How can you have fun watching my content if I'm not having fun making it?
There is this ad agency mantra that I love, "We're not invited to the party, so at least let us bring some champagne".
Q: Your films are brilliantly entertaining to watch, and it seems like you enjoy making them, but they’re also so well produced - they must take a lot of time to plan, film, and edit. Artists and makers often struggle to balance the time they spend creating versus the time they give to marketing and selling their work. How do you manage the creative side of your business and the more commercial aspects?
I do enjoy making them :) I would have loved to be a film director, but I'm way too shy. I know that what I'm about to write here will annoy some people, but nowadays, being a ceramist is 30% being a good maker and 70% being a good salesman. I knew that before I started and that's probably why I took the leap. After years selling things I can focus on becoming a good maker. It's impossible, but I want that balance to be 100%-100%.
“We used to buy products. But now that we have made so many of them, in every colour or material possible, we want them to come with a story. It's one of the few good aspects of our society, because we tend to give more attention to what we buy and own…
A good brand story is a true and honest one.
A great brand story is one in which there is also audacity, courage and loyalty.”
Q With your background in advertising, why do you think storytelling is important to a business and selling? What do you think makes a great brand story?
We used to buy products. But now that we have made so many of them, in every colour or material possible, we want them to come with a story. It's one of the few good aspects of our society, because we tend to give more attention to what we buy and own. I think that brands shouldn't be so different from people, and the same goes for their story. Burger King is a funny dude you know, Nike is someone who inspires you, Apple is your crush and Patagonia is the friend you respect... A good brand story is a true and honest one. A great brand story is one in which there is also audacity, courage and loyalty.
Q Are there any other brand stories that you especially admire and enjoy?
I recently discovered this French brand named Kidur and beyond its exceptional products, I particularly loved its story. Two Frenchmen set up this fabric company just before the Second World War. During the German occupation, they hid Allied soldiers and used the company's premises for resistance work. Once the war was over, it was the foreign soldiers who helped the company get through the fabric shortage that hit Europe. The brand survived and thanks to Kidur, the whole region prospered. Magnificent.
Q What advice would you give someone wanting to change career and industry and follow a creative passion in the way you have? Is there anything you wish you’d known when you first started out or that you would do differently?
I'm tempted to say "Just do it". But Dan Wieden once explained where the inspiration for the famous Nike "Just do it" came from. It was inspired by the final words of a death row inmate who was facing execution and said, "You know, let's do it." So... I don't know. Depending on your situation, I think it's a bit more complicated than the usual "life's too short, let's go!". If you allow me I'll rather leave this decision to them and say this: If you did "just do it" and changed career, do "think different".
Thanks to Jacques for taking the time to share his thoughts and insights with us in this interview. You can find Jacques’ latest work on his website and follow along with his story on Instagram.
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