Kiwi Underglaze started the same way a lot of pottery things do: with testing, experimenting, making a mess, and trying to get colour to behave the way we wanted it to.

Back then, we were working out of a small workshop in New Zealand, surrounded by test tiles, hand-filled bottles, notebooks full of firing results, and plenty of trial and error.

Little by little, colour by colour, Kiwi Underglaze began to take shape. Not in a corporate lab or giant factory, but through real studio use and countless hours of testing. We wanted underglazes that felt good to paint with, gave strong reliable colour, and worked in normal pottery studios without fuss.

That practical, hands-on approach still shapes everything we do today.

Every colour in the range is developed and produced here in New Zealand. We spend a huge amount of time testing colours, checking fired results, and making sure every batch performs consistently and reliably.

We’ve always believed good underglaze should make the creative process easier, not harder. It should brush smoothly, layer well, fire reliably, and give makers confidence every time they use it.

Over time, what started as a small grassroots project has grown into a full range of underglazes used by artists, schools, studios, production potters, and hobby makers around the world.

But honestly, not much has changed.

We still get excited about new colours.

We still fill the workshop with test tiles.

We still talk about glaze combinations over coffee.

And we still believe there’s something pretty special about opening a fresh bottle of colour and wondering what it might become.

That’s Kiwi Underglaze.