Project Name: Repairing the break — A Thank-You Commission after the Valencia Floods.

Client: TPF Consulting & Aspor Engineering (València, next to the Barranco del Poyo ravine)

Work conceptual description:

Context — What is a DANA?
On 29 October, an intense storm system hit València and nearby towns. In Spain this phenomenon is called a DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos): a cut-off low that can unleash sudden, torrential rain and flash flooding. In the area around the Barranco del Poyo, water rose dangerously, damaging homes and workplaces.

A decision that protected people.
At TPF Consulting & Aspor Engineering, the water would later reach close to two metres inside the building. Hours before official alerts, Ester Maeso (Deputy Director) warned CEO Baldemar Asensio. A clear call was made: “everyone, go home.”
Fifty people out of harm’s way. Leadership sometimes means reading the river before it reaches the door.

Gratitude as a brief.
From the very first moment, families, friends, suppliers and fellow companies helped: cleaning, pumping water, offering temporary offices, holding up morale. Months later, when the company reopened, they asked us to create a thank-you piece that could speak to all who helped—from interns to business owners who lent their spaces.

Why these pieces.
We chose works from my collection Sorpresa Circular, created with residue from the studio itself—the clay slip gathered when cleaning tools and brushes. It is clay, so it carries a symbol, but it does not carry the weight of the disaster’s mud. The material is unpredictable; sometimes the pieces crack. I stitch and mend those fractures with thin wire.
The crack does not disappear — it is understood. And, in being understood, it becomes strength.

Each piece was presented on a natural wooden plinth engraved with the words: “Your help changed our future.”
There was music. There was emotion. There was gratitude.
For us, sustainability also means repair; innovation can be giving value to what seemed to have none; leadership is protecting people in time.

Work technical description
Series: Sorpresa Circular (one-of-a-kind pieces)

Process: studio-collected slip; hand-formed; visible repair with fine wire as an intentional gesture

Finish: natural ceramic surface; engraved wooden plinth for presentation

Edition: made to order; each piece unique in composition and fracture line (certificate included)

Materials
Stoneware body (studio slip & reclaimed fines)

Fine stainless/metal wire for visible mending

Natural wood plinth, laser-engraved

Firing temperature: Up to 1280 ºC (high-fire stoneware)

Sustainability
Circular studio practice: pieces made from in-house residue (slip reclaimed when cleaning tools and brushes)

Local production: materials and fabrication within València (short supply chain) (adjust if you prefer)

Longevity: high-fire ceramics; repair is not hidden but honoured as part of the narrative

Make an order
Interested in commissioning a thank-you piece or a limited series for your team or partners?
Let’s design a meaningful object together