Zoe Lannan is the Adelaide-based, self-taught ceramicist behind Xirix
Guided by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi and clay’s innate unpredictability, her work embraces the organic, the irregular, and the beautifully imperfect. Each piece is shaped slowly and intentionally by hand, celebrating the quiet charm that lives in asymmetry, texture, and trace.
Fascinated by ancient history and archeology, Zoe has always been drawn to artefacts - objects shaped by time and touch, equal parts functional and beautiful. In 2022, this fascination led her to learn traditional handbuilding. What began as an escape from the routine nine-to-five soon became a true passion. She's drawn to the intuitive process: the quiet intentionality, traces of touch, and creative spontaneity of making by hand.
With a decade-long career as a freelance graphic designer, Zoe brings a strong sense of form, balance, and visual refinement to her ceramics — merging a designer’s eye with the spontaneity of working by hand.
Today, her work is defined by graceful sculptural vessels - an ode to nature's gentle, imperfect forms. Working from her home studio, she builds each piece using slabs, coils, or a combination of the two. Every curve, ruffle, and contour is shaped by hand, resulting in ceramics that are entirely one-of-a-kind.
At the heart of Xirix is a simple belief: when we elevate everyday objects, we begin to see the beauty in everyday life.
Zoe creates functional ceramics as small rituals — the fruit bowl that lives on your kitchen counter, the tray that holds your jewellery, the vase that catches light in the afternoon. These objects become part of your routines in subtle ways, inviting you to slow down, soften, and romanticise the mundane.
Through Xirix, Zoe hopes to create modern relics — ceramics that feel timeless, tactile, and enduring. Pieces to be used, treasured and passed on.
