I am Mandy - the strength and soul behind BONDOLOS.
Born in Rostock in 1977, I grew up as an Afro-German in a small health resort nearby. My father, the stranger with the beautiful surname BONDOLO, was always one of me, even though my name was different and I didn't know who his stood for.
Many years later and through some twists and turns of life, question marks became answers.
I discovered the feeling of familiarity, curiosity and courage. This new energy did something to me and I started doing what I had wanted to do for many years: pottery!
Sometimes you need real feelings, real moments and honest passion.
"My love for shapes, colors and design as well as my enthusiasm for clay allows me to create timelessly beautiful ceramics. Expressing my creativity with my own hands and seeing what I have created is what drives me forward and makes me happy."
MY STUDIO
The heart where I put my ideas every day can live out and realize in ceramics.
4 small rooms, lots of space for shelves, glazes, my two kilns, five pottery wheels, my creativity
and me.
I start off grateful and satisfied.
Every day anew.
The BONDOLOS Story - how it all began...
I dreamed about it for so long and suddenly everything happened so quickly. In the winter of 2019, after 4 hours of pottery classes and the firm conviction that I wanted to make ceramics, I had the chance to rent a place in a small creative community.
Very soon I realized that the space was too limited for all the images in my head that wanted to come out...
...and hey tadaa! At the beginning of 2020 I had a mini studio of 16 square meters. It was my beginning, all alone - off into the deep end. I turned and sanded, sanded and glazed and after 10 months I knew: BONDOLOS needs more space!
A lucky coincidence led me to my small, fine studio in the Schanze at the beginning of 2021, the place where the BONDOLOS magic happens...
This is how the BONDOLOS magic happens...
The Process
I hold each piece in my hands from start to finish 10-15 times. From hitting the tone to turning. Turning over several times during the drying process plus the processing of turning the ceramic and putting it away for bisque firing, which takes 22 hours, is far from everything. In addition, there is sanding, watering and glazing, before finally starting the high fire, which takes another 24 hours. When everything leaves the oven intact, it is packaged and BONDOLOS goes out into the world. This is real handwork!
My wheel
I decided to buy an old turntable. It somehow makes me feel closer to the origins of this craft. Although my SHIMPO 21 dates back to 1983, it is not yet a veteran or a piece of old news. It is robust, reliable and can withstand days when I pedal it for more than 7 hours at a time.
The Material
Since the beginning I've been shooting with mainly three keys. Concrete gray tone is one of my favorites. I love its coloring in every condition. White clay is the clay most commonly used, although I find it lacks a bit of sophistication, but with glazes it is very reliable. In contrast to the black clay called Nigra. I keep it rather simple in terms of colors because I find it most elegant in its natural state and with a subtle glaze.