Martina Zalig founded Isla Clay while living in Scotland for a decade. In September 2017 she moved back to Slovenia, her home-country. She holds a degree in Translation Studies and had worked as a Literary Translator until she fell head over heels in love with clay a few years ago. Since then she has been on an adventure of exploring this wonderful material through books, videos and lots of hand-on exploring. She loves the endless possibilities and techniques that working with clay brings.

Her designs explore the relationship between colour, image, and form. Each piece is designed and handcrafted by Martina in her studio. Bright and bold colours, black carved geometric patterns and abstract or classic yet organic-looking shapes translate every piece of her ceramic jewellery into wearable art; perfect for young and youthful women with vibrant hearts.

Martina has always liked creating with hands; in fact, it is her first memories of drawing flowers and animals with her dear Gran as a four-year-old. She can still clearly remember the day when she first felt she wanted to work with clay. It was on a sunny summer day when she was lying on a small hill on Berneray, an island in the Outer Hebrides. It took a few years before she actually ordered a kiln and bought her first chunk of clay, but that feeling never left her. 

In Martina's mind ceramics is strongly connected to her life in Scotland and becoming a part of that country for a decade, so she wanted to choose a Scottish name for her brand, and that is where Isla Clay came from.