Camila Prada from Vinila Designs wrote to me this week about the ceramics she just designed called Pepe and Friends as part of a collaboration with prestigious German ceramic manufacturer Rosenthal. Her new designs are so cute that I thought they'd add a smile to your face today. The 'Pepe and Friends' collection is a group of 16 ceramic creatures that are both functional and adorable with more to follow and prices range between $15-47. Cookie jars, S + P shakers, creamers, a butterdish, they've got it all and they are available here for purchasing. Bonus: They ship worldwide.

Camila is a Canadian artist/designer who relocated to Stoke on Trent, England to pursue her MA in Ceramic Design and to get a dose of what design is all about in Europe. She started off selling at craft shows and for the past several years she has been making everything herself. Now she set up her own small business along with partner Gavin Pryke to form Vinila Designs. At first, they established themselves by creating bone china figurines which won them an award. Then they ventured into designing a collection called The Flatfaces that landed them in prestigious Selfridges in London as well as independent design boutiques across England. Not bad for a new business. But there is more...

Gaining confidence through so many 'wins', they decided to pitch their concept of fun, playful but also functional ceramics to German giant Rosenthal and they loved the idea so much that Pepe and Friends was born. Wow!

To view more of their collections, please visit Vinila Designs online. And congratulations to Camila and Gavin for being a positive role model to other indie designers out there looking to establish themselves in the competitive design industry. It's wonderful to see where courage and talent can take you!

(images from vinila designs)