The Élan Console and Mirrors, developed in collaboration with Australian design house New Volumes, reveal the nuances of Jordan Fleming’s creative practice. New projects are embarked upon through research – going deep on a particular technique or material, or through sculptural and material exploration.

In the very early stages of developing Elan, Jordan – having studied the breadth of New Volumes’ collection, and knowing that her medium would be terracotta clay – began to prototype her initial ideas. “I wanted to design within the established aesthetic to some degree, but it also encouraged me to refine my ideas and explore new territory. I started with form by, quite physically, just cutting and removing material from shapes,” says Jordan Fleming.

Using sketching and little paper models to develop her ideas, Jordan imbued forms with movement, arriving at the monumental lightness of the Élan Console first, before completing the evocative Élan Mirror.

The name for this collection, élan, alludes to energy and style, a term that encapsulates the imagination of those early ideas, and the vigour that is delicately harnessed through line, form and proportion. “Élan captures movement suspended in stillness. Each piece appears to have been shaped by unseen forces, its contours evolving and unfolding through space,” says Jordan.

The sculptural Élan Console appears to twist and undulate in balanced asymmetry. Everything is brought into balance with the open portal cut from its centre – a feature both decorative and functional. The Élan Mirrors – scaled up and down into Midi and Mini sizes are all elegant restraint, vibrating with quiet personality. All, chameleons of style, able to blend in or stand out – whatever the space they inhabit.

The brief called for Jordan to design pieces that would be formed from Italian terracotta – a natural material sources from the clay-rich hills of Tuscany. Élan reveals the natural strength, warmth and quiet fluidity of this ancient material, which is crafted, shaped and fired by artisans of the trade.

“The process of forming and refining the console and mirrors was about respecting the material’s strengths as well as its unpredictability,” says Jordan. “Each object carries the memory of touch – of moulding, slow drying, firing – resulting in organic textures and finishes that can never be exactly repeated. I wanted Elan to celebrate these qualities, allowing the pieces to feel at once ancient and contemporary, sculptural and welcoming.”

Elan is the product of close collaboration, shaped through an environment of trust and creative exchange. Jordan’s ideas evolved organically as they moved from her hands to those of New Volumes creative director, Thomas Coward, before returning to her once more – and ultimately, into the skilled hands of terracotta artisans.

“I valued the exchange of feedback and expertise at every stage – from paper prototypes to large-scale 3D prints and final refinements. There’s an energy in giving your designs over to another set of hands, knowing they will return transformed yet true to the original vision. That shared process, and everyone’s openness to experimentation, made Élan what it is,” says Jordan.