Some talents span lifetimes, and some span bloodlines. In the case of Winkle Ceramic Design, founder Daniel Shapiro is inspired by the legacy of his great-great-grandfather who started a slipcast ceramics business, Winkle Terracotta Company, in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. This precious piece of family history lives on for a modern audience within Shapiro’s newly founded design brand with its inaugural collection, Squared. The collection, which includes lighting, mirrors, and furniture, debuted during this year’s WANTED showcase, picking up several awards along the way.
Winkle Ceramic Design marks a new path for Shapiro, away from his earlier focus on organic, sculptural forms. “I have two distinct parts of my personality,” he says. “One side is messy and chaotic, my personal work showcases this. But there’s another side of me that loves order, even spacing, parallel lines, and grids. Winkle gives that structured side of my mind a place to live.”
That structured sensibility comes to life in Squared, a modular system of cubic forms that brings geometric clarity to a medium long dominated by cylindrical shapes and fluid contours. The collection reinterprets traditional slipcasting techniques with a contemporary methods, integrating 3D design, digital modeling, and printing alongside age-old methods of mold making. The result is a balance of mathematical precision and artisanal craft, expressed through lighting, mirrors, and furniture composed of stackable ceramic blocks.
The idea for Squared was sparked during play time. While building with blocks alongside his son, Shapiro was struck by the creative possibilities hidden within simple geometric forms. That intuitive act of stacking became the conceptual foundation for the collection, which explores how uniform cubes can be endlessly configured to form functional yet expressive objects. Each piece follows a carefully considered process – beginning with digital modeling, then moving to 3D-printed prototypes, and finally to hand-poured plaster molds. The finished works are enhanced by distinctive surface treatments, including swirling marbled slip and layered limewash finishes rarely found in contemporary ceramics. By marrying modular logic with tactile detail, Squared expresses Winkle’s philosophy that everyday objects are “the lens through which our memories are recorded” – transforming functional design into a personal and poetic experience.
Winkle Ceramic Design is a continuation of knowledge and craftsmanship passed down through generations. Daniel Shapiro took his great-great-grandfather’s legacy of slipcasting ceramic and brought it into the modern era, using soft, repetitive form language that reflects the style of our time. Modular, approachable, and refined, the collection makes use of updated methodologies to form a cohesive language.
Daniel Shapiro of Winkle Ceramic Design with the Squared collection
To learn more about Winkle Ceramic Design and Squared, please visit winkle-design.
Photography by Daniel Shapiro.
