Handcrafted Acoustics: L’Impatience’s Ceramic Speakers

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After months of experimentation, two Kingston ceramicists created the very first speaker set with an all-ceramic mouth and driver. The speakers have a vintage look, shaped like a mini gramophone. They are eye-catching considering their size, yet subdued—able to fit in any home, on any cabinet, beside any piece of decor.

L’Impatience found its home in Kingston in 2019. Husband and wife, Jerome and Benedict Leclere who are originally from France, started their ceramics studio in the Hudson Valley after moving from Brooklyn. After creating plates, candleholders, mugs, and vases, they have moved from tableware and decor to a new musical venture.

In October, they launched their new ceramic speakers at Field + Supply in Kingston. The speakers have a modern and minimalist design with their sleek white stoneware clay and dark walnut veneer on the plywood base.

The design intent was to hide the electronic side, making for a more visually appealing product. “We wanted to blend natural materials—wood and ceramics—into a harmonious, organic form,” Jerome says. Rowan Woodworking, also located in Kingston, worked with them to build the wooden base.

“We wanted to just try, with some friends, to make some speakers, and try to add some ceramic elements. We were inspired by horn speakers with the big opening at the top, and I just wanted to try something like that. Surprisingly it sounded really good on the first try—not perfect, but pretty good.”

The sound of the speakers fills the room more than traditional bookshelf speakers. “I feel like it’s a natural sound, meaning, it has more life. If you listen to a record, especially a live record, you feel more drawn into it as if it were more real than a typical speaker,” he says. “Not that it’s louder, but just the shape of it makes the sound come at you more.” In future versions, they plan to use medium-density fiberboard wood for less resonance in the sound.

Getting the right shape and keeping the two speakers exactly symmetrical was a challenge. Originally, they were thrown on the wheel, the same way a pot or a vase would be made. “It’s really hard to replicate the same shape, so then I started to design them in 3-D software. I was doing a mold of it, and then eventually I just decided to just make one on the wheel as close as possible, and then make a mold from this version to create the other ones so they’re all exactly the same,” Leclere says. Now they are all made by slip-casting, a method involving pouring liquid clay into a mold.

The current model, available for $4,200, is the new and improved version of a smaller design they made a year ago. They hope to eventually make an even bigger version. “We wanted to do two different options where one of them was just the ceramic piece and you would not really have a box with it, but it’s harder to get a full sound because you get less bass from the speaker. Then we wanted to make a really big version for big rooms or restaurants,” Leclere says. “These are for a home, like living room size.”

L’Impatience is taking pre-orders for the speakers and plans to have them for sale on the website in the near future.

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