a piece of green earth just for you
What does Gruentone do?
Hi, we are Franky and Pirmin, and we make Gruentone.
We create hand-formed green ceramics from self-collected natural materials.
We exclusively produce bowls for food and drink, as well as beads for collecting and donating.
We collect our clays ourselves in very special places.
We also make our own natural ash glazes from the ashes of various trees and plants.
This is how our characteristic and unique green tones are created.
We fire our products in our self-built kiln in a real fire and hand-form each individual piece.
We only create small, non-reproducible collections and unique pieces.
Inspired by nature.
A piece of green earth just for you.
We make green ceramics.
Inside and out.
our tone
we search for and collect our clays ourselves from very special places, only in small quantities, out of respect and gratitude for our nature
we do not buy it
clay cannot be any greener
green clays, that is
it all began when we found clay on our own property in Sweden
it was pure coincidence or perhaps fate
an infinite amount
our own source of green clay
since then, we have found and collected clay in other special places
until our clay is pure and free of roots, stones, sand, and impurities and can be processed and used, it requires a lot of time, preparation, and work steps. after we have dug up our clay, it is watered, slurred, triple-sieved, settled, aired, dewatered, kneaded through, homogenized, and finally prepared
only then can we create our green clay products from it
we feel an incredibly great passion for our self-collected clays and can only imagine this quality – no other and no better quality – for our products
we can't wait to continue searching in the future, to collect more clay from very special places, to take you along on our journeys
to show you everything and to create beautiful, lasting things for you from it
our glaze
After collecting our own clay and firing our pieces in our self-built kiln with real fire, it quickly became clear that our glazes also had to be homemade and natural to complete our concept. After extensive research, we arrived at the most natural and at the same time one of the oldest and most original techniques for glazing ceramics
with ash
Creating glazes from ash is exciting and diverse; the biggest challenge lies in reaching the required temperatures with our self-built kiln, because ash needs very high temperatures to melt and glaze, significantly higher than industrial and chemical glazes. We succeeded. Ash is not just ash. Through the conscious selection of different woods and plants, our special, different, unique and characteristic green tones are created
We pay attention to the origin of our raw materials; regionality is important to us. We experiment and try out a lot for our future collections, but the exact composition remains our green knowledge. Before we can use our ash, it is washed to dissolve and remove salts and unwanted components. We wash it significantly more often than necessary or prescribed. It undergoes at least ten wash cycles before we dry it and process it into glaze, thus guaranteeing our highest quality standards and standing behind our products with the best knowledge and conscience. Afterwards, we sift our ash three times until we obtain our high-quality end product for our glazes. The beautiful natural green tones of our ash glazes speak for themselves. Their individuality, their uniqueness, their beauty, their love, their soul. In addition to our clays and our kiln, our natural ash glazes are the soul and character of gruentone
our kiln
it all started with our self-made tiles for our house in Sweden, crafted from clay from our own property. So far so good. But without a kiln, no usable tiles. Buying a kiln? Far too complicated, far too expensive. So only one option remained: get creative and do it ourselves, just like everything else in this project. Our knowledge? Absolutely nothing. But it couldn't be that hard, could it?
first summer, first kiln
What we built back then we would lovingly call a creatively bricked rocket without insulation today. The result? Our tiles were, at best, baked, but not fired. We didn't reach the necessary temperature, or so we believe, without a thermometer. We didn't even know what temperature we needed or how long to fire for. The first attempt wasn't a defeat; it was a good lesson.
second summer, second kiln
An upgrade: a steel drum found on the property, unfortunately without a tightly sealing lid. But it was the same old story: baked but not fired tiles, missing insulation, too much heat loss. Our understanding and motivation grew. Through research, our knowledge expanded, and with knowledge came ideas. We wanted to succeed; giving up was not an option.
third summer, third kiln
Slowly, we started to understand. An insulated, sealed steel drum with a chimney, still without a thermometer, still without a peephole. But this time, we held them in our hands: our first fully fired tiles. Pure feeling and pride. We fired all the tiles we needed for our house. After three years, the goal was reached, but that was just the beginning.
fourth and fifth kiln
Now we wanted to know precisely. How hot does it really get? What does the content look like during firing? Thermometer, peephole, even better insulation, everything riveted, no compromises, perfection. Now we know how it's done. One kiln for Sweden, one for Munich,
one for you?
Do you want to build your own kiln and fire your ceramics in real fire?
We have documented everything: a complete step-by-step building instruction in writing with a video guide, material and tool lists with all links to the necessary parts. Everything you need, because we would have needed it too, because we would have loved to have it. Build your own low-budget 100-liter ceramic kiln. It doesn't get cheaper or more authentic.
our kiln today
Today we have a functioning, reliable, self-built ceramic kiln. Now we can fully dedicate ourselves to our new passion: our Gruentone products and projects. Because after the tiles, it quickly became clear to us: that was just the beginning. What we knew from the start: we only fire in real fire, without modern electricity, without technology, completely original.
REAL
about Us
we are frank and pirmin danisch
we live in munich and sweden and love to travel to special places with our van. we have been married since June 2018 and are self-employed as tattoo artists. we have our own tattoo studio in the heart of munich and work at our second location in sweden, because in 2022 we bought our dream house by the lake in sweden and completely renovated it ourselves. we are very close to nature, creative and eager to learn. we love to do things ourselves and are not afraid to get our hands dirty and enjoy working with our hands
the name gruentone came about from our great passion and love for the color green as well as our lifestyle. we are very close to nature and spend every free second outdoors. animals, plants, mushrooms, hiking, DIY projects, self-sufficiency, outdoor activities of all kinds. we try to be as green as we can. we love green in all shades, in all possibilities
when we renovated our forest house by the water in sweden, it quickly became clear what color it should be, green. seeing how our house merged with nature made our hearts beat faster. hardly to be found, one with nature
our passion for clay and pottery began in sweden. our Swedish house was an absolute DIY project. we found clay on our own property and dreamed of shaping our own tiles for our house and firing them in a self-built kiln. we love playing with fire
when it finally worked, we couldn't believe it and a great passion and curiosity for the subject began to grow. today we make gruentone
since then, we have been collecting our clay ourselves from very special places. we don't buy it. the process until the clay is usable takes several weeks. clay can't be much greener. gruentone, simply
we also make our ash glazes ourselves in days of work. our first glaze firing revealed the future of gruentone to us. when we opened the kiln, we could hardly believe our eyes. ash-glazed ceramics in the finest green tones. coincidence or fate
the name and the concept were born
gruentone
through the selection of plants, we now obtain our unique, individual and characteristic green tones. thanks to our life in northern sweden, we were able to gain a new connection to nature. getting to know and appreciate the magical extremes of sun, moon and stars, the seasons and elements. sun, moon, stars, light, shadow, bright, dark. spring, autumn, summer, winter. earth, fire, ice, water, air. a life in harmony with nature, the cosmos, the seasons and the elements. the inspiration for our collections
we are frank and pirmin danisch. we produce green ceramics from self-collected natural materials, in harmony with our nature. out of passion and conviction for our earth
for you