Side Plates, Desert Day

Desert Day is a side plate in a red and dark glaze built from three traditional glazes: copper red, tenmoku and chun. The maker says the rich red and the darkness of the tenmoku recall desert country, and the moving chun stands for the night sky.

It replaced an earlier favourite. Happs used to fire a mix of chun, tenmoku and copper red that it called Astral, until that stopped working. Myles Happ and glaze experimenter David Thomson then worked out this version with the same colours and a wax resist brushed on. The maker says copper red in a gas firing takes persistence, and that because the plates are glazed by hand they may not always match exactly. It will try to find similar pieces for an order.

The other side plates we list are Signature Series and Shelly Beach, and the plain white Farmhouse dinner plate is the larger plate in the range. This one is pressed into a mould, then trimmed, glazed and finished by hand, and measures 18.5 cm across and about 470 g.

Made by Happs Pottery, the studio of potter Myles Happ, who has nearly 30 years of mostly reduction-fired stoneware behind him.

Seeing it in person

Happs Pottery's showroom and working studio is on Caves Road at Anniebrook, between Busselton and Dunsborough (contact page, checked 12 October 2026). Opening hours are on the maker's site. The studio also runs wheel-throwing lessons for small groups, booked on its website.

Delivery

We found no delivery policy on Happs Pottery's website on 12 October 2026, so check postage at its checkout.

Questions

Are the plates dishwasher safe?
The maker says its pottery is microwave, dishwasher and oven safe.

Will two Desert Day plates match?
Not exactly. The glaze is applied by hand, so plates can differ, though the maker says it will try to find similar pieces for an order.

Good to know

• Side plate in the Desert Day glaze: copper red, tenmoku and chun
• 18.5 cm wide, 2.5 cm high, about 470 g
• Microwave, dishwasher and oven safe, the maker says
• Made at Anniebrook, near Dunsborough, Western Australia

Facts checked by Shane Simmons from Happs Pottery's website on 12 October 2026. Sources: Happs Pottery product page and contact page.