Jana Francke

Meet The Designer:

24 June 2026

Meet The Designer:

Jana Francke

24 June 2026

Q: Your motto is that you are "a bad designer." Seems like it is a very critical and intentional position. What are you pushing against?

A: I'm not super antagonistic, I just love a private joke between me and myself. In terms of making useful (and, I am told, beautiful) things, I'm a good designer. But my take on 'form follows function' is far from Jasper Morrison's approach, I make very practical objects that look unpractical as hell. A sensory, emotional response to shapes is also a function. My Insta bio says "subject-object relations designer," and I find that both profoundly true and completely hilarious, emblematic of how we screw self-importance into everything. I take nothing lightly. I'm super existential and totally unserious at the same time.

Q: How did you come to ceramics, and what drew you to clay as your medium of choice?

A: I always disliked how clay feels on the skin. You cannot make it do what you want. It will rip, crack, warp, sag, droop, break. Really not my bag. Studying design, I chose ceramics for a semester, thinking ‘it’s gonna be so shit, but I’ll learn the most here’. I was right. I got hired as the studio assistant, but never worked with ceramics again during my time there. I just chaperoned other people despairing over projects because they expected ceramics to be all nice.

Years later, I jumped back in, developing tableware for Klinke, the Kreuzberg restaurant, and I realized I apparently had something interesting to say with clay.

"Studying design, I chose ceramics for a semester, thinking ‘it’s gonna be so shit, but I’ll learn the most here’. I was right."

Q: Where do you find inspiration for your forms, textures and glazes, and how do these ideas evolve as you work with the material?

A: I have strong reactions to shapes: a bad curve on a sculpture has me fuming, a good soup ladle causes little tears of excitement. My favorite color is glossy, and since childhood I've adored vintage cars. When I design for a purpose, functionality is key, and I sometimes use specific motifs: for Klinke, the topography of Viktoriapark; for my SMC series, the way mold grows in vitro; for the STEIN oyster platter, rock pools by the sea. Rather than using different glazes, I use different clay bodies, all with a transparent glaze.

Q: Is there a routine or habit you discovered that unlocked something important in your work?

A: My restless impatient streak can be agonizing. There’s all this esoteric chat around how clay will “respond to your energies”. I get where people come from, but… No, it’s just that you need to focus hard, stay alert and be careful, and if you’re being messy, you mess up. So if I am scattered and hectic, I deep-clean the studio instead of trying to work. That way, I still use my studio time.

And: I’m extremely social, but I work best completely alone, ‘teamwork’ is overwhelming for me.

Q: How has living and working in Berlin shaped, or reshaped, your practice and your personality? What has the city given you, and what has it asked of you?

A: I've lived here since 2007, so: all of it, everything. Berlin is fundamentally noncommittal, external expectations and pressures won't cage you in, but in turn, you can't expect too much. Many people come to Berlin to explore themselves and then leave to actually find themselves. Despite that, the most incredible, deeply loyal friendships grew here, and I'm deeply grateful. Berlin attracts beautiful people.

Q: When you're not crafting in the studio, which places do you find yourself gravitating towards in Berlin?

A: Restaurants! All kinds! My studio lets me zone in on two of my greatest passions: lush, glossy shapes and lush, delicious food. And whenever I can, I take my favorite people on a recce to explore new rural landscapes. We dubbed it foRaging. Walkies with intensity. Grazing.