The Monster Company

What is The Monster Company?

The Monster Company is a creative partnership between Hayley Hamilton and Karla Stevenson.

Together we supply ceramics pieces to galleries throughout NZ. We also work independently, Karla makes her own ceramic range and jewellery. Hayley makes sculptural pieces and paints. The Monster Company gallery allows us to have a space that we can use as a sounding board for new ideas for our individual work… as well as a display for our Monster range, which is familiar to people as it is seen in many galleries.

Is this your actual workshop?

Yes this is our actual workshop, we make every single ceramic piece you see in the gallery here. Our kilns and equipment are on site, including Karla’s favourite piece – the pug mill! An industrial extruder which recycles the clay and saves us hours of wedging!

What’s new at The Monster Company?

For The Monster Co we have a new range of chunky little cubes made from a North Island clay. We hand make and stamp each one and they are finished with a black-brown wash. Karla has been working on ceramic diffusers and Hayley is currently working on a new range of prints taken from her original paintings. The constant ideas and experiments are a wonderful part of being in a creative partnership, sounds naff but it is a case of do something you love and you really will never work a day in your life. It’s a very special place to come to work in everyday. Meeting the people that are buying your work or that are just inspired by what they see is all part of our working day, we feel very privileged to be able to do this.

Did you both study art back in the day?

Karla has a Bachelor of Media Arts majoring in Sculpture, she studied at Waikato and moved to Raglan in 2002.

Hayley studied art at Central St. Martins School of Art and Design, London, before absconding to NZ for a year out about 27 years ago.

What influence does living in Raglan have on your lives?

Being creative pulls you towards other like minded people. Raglan has been a cornerstone part of both of our journeys and ultimately allows us to be in a community of creative thinkers and makers. Being so close to the sea and the mountain keeps us grounded and gives us a lovely sense of peace when the ideas won’t stop.

You can find us at 58 Wallis Street, on the way to the wharf in the old dairy factory.