The pottery operates from a rural workshop in Fitzhead, Somerset. We provide a wide range of Majolica pottery and tiles, often with inscriptions and we create unique pieces as commissions. They all have a distinctive style employing patterns and colours that I have refined over the years. I am fortunate to have trained and worked with some brilliant potters and artists and have the support of a loyal customer base and this has led me to what we make today. I continue to design and decorate all pieces assisted by a small fabulous team.
I studied Fine Art at the Central School of Art, and then trained with Alan Caiger-Smith and his team at the renowned Aldermaston Pottery in Berkshire. In 1986 I set up my first pottery in Trottiscliffe, Kent. I then moved the business to the Somerset, initially with a studio in Milverton. The business has subsequently grown and today we work out of a larger workshop in nearby Fitzhead.
The Workshop
We throw all the pots on electric Alsager wheels in majolica clay from San Sepolcro, the heart of Italian tin–glazed pottery. When fully dry the pots are slowly bisque fired to 1060°C in one of two Cromartie electric kilns, powered by renewable energy and once bisque fired all pots are hand dipped in an opaque ivory white tin-glaze. It’s an Aldermaston recipe, tried and safety tested. After another day drying out, each pot is individually painted on a banding-wheel, using handmade sable brushes with pigments and oxides. The overnight glaze-firing needs careful watching in the final stages to reach 1060°C by gently soaking for several hours. The firing range is especially critical for painted pots.
We use combinations of eight colours across the wide range of ware, the harshness of pure copper and cobalt oxides tempered with a little ilmenite. The bright colours of Mediterranean Pottery are muted to suit the light and climate of the UK thus creating a subtle British majolica.
You are welcome to visit the workshop but please contact us first to arrange an appointment.