Porcelain, in its own time
The faceted porcelain baby music box, Tiny Shiny's signature piece, from its first line to its last touch of gold. Scroll down: it will come to life before your eyes.
The drawing
It all begins with a precise shape, drawn to a tenth of a millimetre. Its dimensions anticipate what the fire will take from it: once fired, the box must hold its mechanism to the millimetre.
The master
The shape is printed layer by layer, then wet-sanded and varnished. The slightest flaw in this surface would show on the porcelain.
The plaster
Four conical segments close around the master, held by their clamps, and the plaster is poured. The casing comes off, the block is turned over and the master removed: what remains is the hollow imprint.
Then the mould dries, for one to two weeks.
The casting
The slip fills the imprint, upside down. The plaster draws in the water and a wall forms against it: the excess is poured out once it reaches 2 to 2.5 mm, then the piece is released from the mould and turned the right way up.
The wall grows more and more slowly: doubling its thickness takes four times as long.
The wait
Out of the mould, the piece is fettled and every edge refined by hand. Then comes the wait.
Porcelain that dries too quickly cracks: here, patience is part of the craft.
The little figurine
Modelled by hand, a little figurine is attached to the still unfired piece: here, a bear cub. It will go through every firing with it.
This is where each box becomes truly theirs.
The bisque
A first firing: the piece becomes bisque, still porous, ready to take the glaze.
It is already shrinking a little.
The glaze
Dipped in a clear glaze, then fired at high temperature: the porcelain vitrifies and draws in on itself.
Everything has been calculated so that it comes out just right.
The gold
A dot of gold lustre at the tip of the facets, applied with a brush, then a third firing, on its own.
It is the last gesture, and the slowest.
The box, complete
The musical movement is glued onto the base, and the lid comes to rest over it.
The music box is born.
One box, then a whole collection
This faceted music box is Tiny Shiny's signature piece. Its facets that catch the light, its gold dots applied one by one and its little hand-modelled figurine reappear, from one piece to the next, throughout the collections.